Latin Lesson #4: Noun-Is-Adjective, fem.

The focus for today's lesson is adjectives, the words that modify nouns. That means we also need to talk about gender. All nouns in Latin have a grammatical gender: feminine, masculine, or neuter. (The Latin word neuter is a compound — ne-uter, "not either" — so neuter means "not feminine, not masculine.") 

The gender of a noun does not change: a feminine noun is always feminine. But adjectives come in different genders: each adjective has a feminine form, a masculine form, and a neuter form. The form of the adjective always agrees with the gender of its noun. 

To get started with adjectives, we will be looking today at sayings that feature feminine nouns and feminine adjectives.

The verb in these sentences is est, although as you already learned, the verb est can be omitted. You also learned about free word order in Latin. In English, the normal word order for this type of sentence is "Noun-is-adjective." That word order does not vary in spoken English — if you vary the word order in English, you are being poetic. In Latin, however, you can vary that word order for stylistic emphasis however you want, as you will see in the examples below. In a sense, Latin is always poetic, unlike English.

So, here are today's proverbs:

1. Paupertas ingeniosa.
Poverty (is) ingenious.
Pau-PER-tas in-ge-ni-O-sa.

The word paupertas is from the word pauper, meaning a poor man. The Latin word pauper is used in English, "pauper," and it is also the origin of the English word "poor." Latin paupertas is the origin of the English word "poverty."

The word ingeniosa means "full of ingenium," and Latin ingenium means "talent, genius, cleverness." This is the origin of the English word "ingenious."

The idea here is that poverty forces people to be clever and inventive. Poor people cannot just buy their way out of trouble; they have to use their wits instead.

2. Roma aeterna est.
Rome is eternal
RO-ma ae-TER-na EST.

The Latin adjective aeterna is the origin of English "eternal," something that lasts throughout the ages. The root of the Latin word is aevum, meaning "age" or "era," as in the English word "medieval," referring to the Middle Ages; Latin medium-aevum, middle-age.

Rome is also called "the eternal city," urbs aeterna (Latin urbs means "city").

3. Fortuna caeca est.
Fortune is blind.
For-TU-na CAE-ca EST

The word Fortuna in Latin means "fortune," but also something like "luck" or "chance." You can read about the Roman goddess Fortuna at Wikipedia. 

The word caeca means "blind," and it also has the metaphorical sense of acting randomly or aimlessly, without insight or foresight.

That is the meaning here: the goddess Fortuna is said to be blind because sometimes bad people have good luck, while good people have bad luck. This gave rise to the idea that Fortuna is blindfolded or veiled, so the goddess cannot see what she is doing; that's why she bestows both good luck and bad luck at random.

4. Aequa mors est.
Death is fair.
AE-qua MORS EST.

The word aequa is the origin of the English word "equal." You can also see the root in many other English words, for example: "equator."

The word mors, which has as its root mort-, means "death," and you can see that root in English words like "mortal" and "mortality." 

The idea here is that death comes to all alike: rich and poor, powerful and powerless. Nobody escapes death. Other things in life are not fair (like Fortuna, for example!), but death is fair; she comes to everyone equally in the end.

5. Amara est veritas.
(The) truth is bitter.
A-MA-ra EST VE-ri-tas.

The word amara means "bitter" in the sense of a bitter taste, but just like in English, it covers a range of  negative meanings: unpleasant, harsh, etc. You can see this root in the English word "amaretto," an Italian liqueur that is both bitter and sweet (the word is Italian, which gets almost all of its vocabulary from Latin).

The word veritas, "truth," is a noun formed from the adjective ver-, which you can see in English words like "verify" and "verity."

The idea here is that, while the truth is a good thing, and often desirable, that does not mean it is going to be pleasant.

A final note about feminine nouns and adjectives: you probably noticed that the feminine adjectives in these sayings all ended in "a" — ingeniosa, aeterna, caeca, aequa, amara. That is because these adjectives all belong to what is called "Declension 1." But take a look at the feminine nouns: some end in "a" like Roma and Fortuna, but some do not, like paupertas, mors and veritas. The nouns Roma and Fortuna belong to Declension 1, like the adjectives, but paupertas, mors and veritas belong to Declension 3. You will be learning about the different declensions in the coming weeks. Yes, there are adjectives in Declension 3, and yes, there is a Declension 2 (there are 5 declensions total), but don't worry about that for now; just learn the sayings so that you become familiar with all these words. You need to get the words bouncing around in your head before we start organizing them into the different declensions.

1. Paupertas ingeniosa.
2. Roma aeterna est.
3. Fortuna caeca est.
4. Aequa mors est.
5. Amara est veritas.

Now here is today's audio —

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Latin Lesson #3: Noun-Is-Noun / Word Order

In Lesson 1 and Lesson 2, you saw examples of sayings in which the verb "is" was implied. In this lesson, you will now see some sayings which do include the Latin verb "is" — est. Whether or not to include est is purely a matter of style, not grammar. So, for example, both versions of this saying are commonly found:

• Homo bulla.
• Homo bulla est.

Also, Latin has free word order, which means you can put the est wherever you want. It can go at the end, or in the middle:

• Sapientia est potentia.

It can also go at the beginning:

• Est potentia sapientia.

The different word order gives a different emphasis based on how the statement is revealed to the listener word by word. For example, if you say "Est potentia sapientia," the word sapientia is revealed as a kind of surprise at the end. 

The extreme freedom of Latin word order is one of its most distinctive stylistic features. In English, word order is almost completely regulated by grammar, but in Latin the word order is all a matter of style!

So, here are today's proverbs, which continue the Noun-Noun formula, but now with the verb est:

1. Vita est somnium.
Life is (a) dream.
VI-ta   EST   SOM-ni-um.

You see the Latin word for life, vita, in English "vital" and "vitality." The Latin phrase curriculum vitae means "course of life" (vitae is in the genitive case, meaning "of life").

The Latin word for dream, somnium, is derived from the word for sleep, somnus. You can see this root in the English "somnambulist," or "sleep-walker."

A more pessimistic version is Vita sominum breve, "Life (is a) brief dream." (You'll be learning about Latin adjectives in the next lesson!)

2. Peregrinatio vita est.
Life is (a) pilgrimage.
Pe-re-gri-NA-ti-o   VI-ta   EST.

The word for pilgrimage, peregrinatio, is from per-ager, meaning "through the land" or "beyond the land." The adjective peregrinus (pe-re-GRI-nus) meant a traveler, a foreigner or stranger. In medieval Latin, peregrinus became pelegrinus, which is how it eventually became English "pilgrim." The Latin word also gives us "peregrine falcon," a bird who travels literally all over the earth.

You can also find the saying in this form: Vita hominis peregrinatio est, "The life of a person is a pilgrimage." The word hominis (HO-mi-nis) is the genitive form of homo; you'll be learning about the genitive soon too!

3. Est vipera invidia.
Envy is (a) viper.
EST   VI-pe-ra   in-VI-di-a.

From Latin vipera we get English "viper."

The word invidia is the origin of the English word "envy." The Latin noun invidia comes from the verb invidere (in-vi-DE-re), which is a compound: in-videre, "to look at," but with negative connotations: to look at someone with malice, with jealousy, with the evil eye. 

This saying is metaphorical: envy is not literally a viper, but it can be dangerous, even deadly, like a viper. There was a Latin emblem type popular during the Renaissance that associated envy with vipers; you can see that emblem, with an English translation, here: Invidia.

4. Rex est lex.
(The) king is (the) law.
REX EST LEX.

The word rex means king, and the root, reg-, gives us words like "regal" and "reign" in English.

The word lex means law, and the root, leg-, gives us words like "legal" and "legislature" in English.

The idea, of course, is that the king is a law unto himself: Rex est lex. Or, even more simply: Rex lex.

5. Est adulator laudator.
Someone who praises you is (a) flatterer.
EST   a-du-LA-tor   lau-DA-tor.

The Latin adulator is a flatterer, someone who offers insincere compliments, manipulating you for their own benefit. The English word "adulation" comes from this same Latin root, but it has lost its negative connotations in English. In Latin, the adulator is dangerous, someone you should not trust.

The Latin laudator is someone who praises you. This word does not have negative connotations; Latin laus, "praise," is a positive thing. The Latin phrases summa cum laude and magna cum laude ("with the highest praise" and "with great praise") are still used today in English. (The form laude is the ablative case of laus; the ablative case will be coming soon too!)

So, the point of this proverb is to beware: the person who is praising you may just be flattering you for their own purposes. The fact that the word adulator is an anagram of laudator just adds to the power of the proverb. It's almost as if because the words contain the same letters, they are the same thing! You can read more about Latin anagrams at Wikipedia.

1. Vita est somnium.
2. Peregrinatio vita est.
3. Est vipera invidia.
4. Rex est lex.
5. Est adulator laudator.

And now, here is the audio for today:

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Latin Lesson 2: Noun-(is)-noun, cont.

Today's lesson is a continuation from yesterday, with more examples of "Noun (is) noun" sayings. So, start by reviewing the sayings from yesterday's lesson to see how well you remember them. Read them out loud; hopefully you will feel confident about the meaning as you pronounce the Latin words:

• Scientia potentia.
• Conscientia testis.
• Innocentia eloquentia.
• Nocumentum documentum.
• Juventus ventus.

If you are not feeling 100% confident about the meaning, just take a look back at yesterday's post.

For today, here are some more proverbs that use the same 2-word formula, Noun-(is)-noun.

1. Eloquentia sagitta.
Eloquence (is an) arrow.
E-lo-QUEN-ti-a    sa-GIT-ta.

You learned the word eloquentia yesterday: Innocentia eloquentia.

The word sagitta means "arrow" and it gives us "Sagittarius," the constellation of the archer. As for the the word sagitta, it is not Indo-European in origin; it is an indigenous Mediterranean word that predates the arrival of the Latins in Italy.

By using the metaphor of the arrow, the saying helps us to understand the power of language: speech is like a weapon, it can travel straight and travel far, and words that have been spoken cannot be called back... just like an arrow!

2. Homo bulla.
(A) human (is a) bubble.
HO-mo    BUL-la.

The word homo in Latin means a person, as opposed to an animal. So, homo refers both to men and to women. (The word for man in Latin is vir and the word for woman is mulier.) From Latin homo we get the English word "human."

The word bulla means "bubble," especially the bubbles of liquid as it is boiling; the Latin verb meaning to boil is bullire. Because of the round shape of bubbles, the round wax seal on an official document was also called a bulla, and that eventually gives us the English word "bulletin," an official document that, in the past, would have been sealed with a wax seal.

The meaning of this proverb is that a person's life is fleeting: we come into existence, as fragile as bubbles, and then we vanish into nothingness.

2. Sapientia potentia.
Wisdom (is) power.
Sa-pi-EN-ti-a    po-TEN-ti-a.

This is a variation on the saying you saw yesterday: Scientia potentia.

The word sapientia means wisdom, from the verb is sapi- which means both to be wise but also to taste, to be able to sense the flavor of something. That is the root metaphor of wisdom in Latin: someone who is wise, sapiens, is able to discern flavors; they have acute powers of perception. Hence the name of our species: homo sapiens, "wise person." From the sapi- root in Latin, we get the English word "savour" and also "savant" (the "p" sound shifted to a "v" in French, which is how the words came to English).

3. Sapientia felicitas.
Wisdom (is) happiness.
Sa-pi-EN-ti-a    fe-LI-ci-tas.

The word felicitas is a noun formed from the Latin adjective felix, which originally meant "fruitful, productive," but then came to mean "lucky, successful," and eventually "happy," which is how felicitas comes to mean "happiness." The English words "felicity" and "felicitations" come from this root, as do the names Felix and Felicity.

5. Nomen omen.
(A) name (is an) omen.
NO-men    O-men.

The word nomen is from the Indo-European root h₁nómn̥, which is also the origin of English "name," so Latin nomen and English "name" are cousins. You can see the Latin root in English words like "nomination" and "nomenclature."

The word omen means a sign of something to come, a foreboding. Omens can be good or bad, but they often have bad connotations. We use this Latin word in English, "omen," which also gives us the word "ominous" in English. Meanwhile, the origin of the Latin word itself is a complete mystery; here are some possible origins of the Latin word omen.

This saying is like the Iuventus ventus saying from yesterday: the words nomen and omen are not linguistically related, but it seems like there should be some connection between them since they are so similar in sound! The idea is that a person's name is something more than just a name; the name can be a sign or clue as to a person's character. A name like Felix, for example, is a name of good omen!

1. Eloquentia sagitta.
2. Homo bulla.
3. Sapientia potentia.
4. Sapientia felicitas.
5. Nomen omen.

And here is today's audio:



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Latin Lesson 1: Noun-(is)-noun

The focus for today's lesson is a simple proverb formula: Noun (is) noun. You already saw an example of this in yesterday's post:

Scientia potentia.
Knowledge (is) power.

As you can see, Latin does not require the verb "to be" in order to make this a complete statement. The meaning of the sentence is clear in Latin without having to state the verb. There is a Latin verb est which means "is," and you will be learning about that verb later. For now, though, the focus is on nouns, not verbs. Today's proverbs feature nouns, and only nouns.

The reason Latin does not need the verb to make a complete sentence is because the nouns scientia and potentia are in what is called the "nominative case." Each Latin noun has six different "cases" that indicate the grammatical role that the noun plays in a sentence, changing the ending of the word to indicate the grammatical case. English, on the other hand, does not use cases the way that Latin does; there are only a few exceptions, like English "she" and "her" or "who" and "whom" (and English speakers mix those up all the time!). Instead of cases, English relies heavily on word order to indicate the grammatical role of each word in a sentence.

You will be learning about the Latin case endings later, but don't worry about that right now. Instead, concentrate on learning these Noun-(is)-noun sayings. I'd encourage you to pick out one or two favorites to memorize!

You might also have noticed that Latin does not have definite articles ("the") or indefinite articles ("a"). Those words simply do not exist in Latin. So the Latin word documentum means "a document" or "the document" based on context. (I am sure all the non-native speakers of English are glad to know that Latin does not have definite and indefinite articles, and all the impossible-to-memorize rules that go with them in English!)

So, here are today's proverbs:

1. Scientia potentia.
Knowledge (is) power.
Sci-EN-ti-a   po-TEN-ti-a.

The Latin word scientia gives us the word "science" in English. The root is sci- which means "to know."
You can see the Latin word potentia in the English word "potential" and also in words like "potent" and "potentate." The root is pot- which means "to control" or "to be able." The English word "power" also derives from this same Latin root.
The saying originates with Francis Bacon, the English philosopher and scientist, in his Meditationes Sacrae (Sacred Meditations), written in 1597.

2. Conscientia testis.
Conscience (is a) witness.
Con-sci-EN-ti-a   TES-tis.

The Latin word conscientia is a compound: con-scientia. The prefix con- means "with," so the idea behind conscientia (English "conscience") is "knowledge with/within oneself." From the related Latin adjective conscius we get English "conscious."
You can see the root of Latin testis, which means "witness," in English words like "testify" and "testimony."
The idea is that even if there is not someone who has witnessed some crime you committed, your own conscience is a witness of what you did.

3. Innocentia eloquentia.
Innocence (is) eloquence.
In-no-CEN-ti-a   e-lo-QUEN-ti-a.

The word innocentia is a compound noun: in-nocentia. The prefix in- is a negating prefix, and the verbal root noce- means "to harm" or "to injure," so the noun innocentia means "not harmful" or "innocent," just like in English.
The word eloquentia is also a compound noun: e(x)-loquentia, "speaking out," and it has the same meaning as English "eloquence."
The idea behind this saying is that your innocence will speak out in your defense; you don't need fancy arguments or an expensive lawyer. Your innocence will be able to speak for you.

4. Nocumentum documentum.
(An) injury (is a) lesson.
No-cu-MEN-tum   do-cu-MEN-tum.

The word nocumentum, "injury," is another noun formed from the verb noce-.
The word documentum, "lesson," is a noun formed from the verb doce- which means "to teach." We have borrowed the Latin word documentum directly into English as "document."
The idea is that when you suffer an injury or make a painful mistake, you will learn your lesson and not repeat that same mistake again. Compare the English expression about "The School of Hard Knocks." 

5. Juventus ventus.
Youth (is) wind.
Ju-VEN-tus   VEN-tus.

This proverb has a lovely play on words: Latin juventus and ventus are actually not related words, but it sure looks like they are related, right?
The root of juventus  is juven- meaning "young," which you can see in English "juvenile." (And Juventus is also the name of a famous European football team!)
The Latin word for wind, ventus, is from the Indo-European root h₂wéh₁n̥ts, which is also the origin of English "wind." In other words, Latin ventus and English "wind" and Indo-European cousins, sharing the same remote ancestor.
Of course, being young is not literally the wind; instead, this saying is a metaphor: your youthful life passes by as quickly as the wind, and then it is gone.

Here's a recap:

1. Scientia potentia.
2. Conscientia testis.
3. Innocentia eloquentia.
4. Nocumentum documentum.
5. Juventus ventus.

And here is today's audio:



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Starting Latin

Welcome to Latin Proverbs/Grammar ~ Grammar/Proverbs!

The goal of this project is to present Latin grammar, step by step, using Latin proverbs to illustrate how the grammar works. 

Instead of the meaningless Latin sentences and mind-numbing Latin charts typically found in a Latin textbook, all the Latin you will be reading is meaningful... and hopefully worth committing to memory!

A few words about the Latin alphabet and pronunciation:

Latin alphabet. The Latin alphabet is basically the same as the English alphabet. The English alphabet is made up of Roman letters! So, here is the Latin alphabet:

A B C D E F G H I L M N O P Q R S T V X

The letters J and U are missing. That's because J is actually a form of Latin I, and U is a form of Latin V. Later Latin texts do use the J and the U, which is what I will be doing in this blog. 

The letter K is also missing; it is very rarely used in Latin. The letters Y and Z appear only in Greek words (although the Romans did use Greek words; many Romans were fluent Greek speakers).

Pronunciation. Unlike English, Latin is highly phonetic. Each vowel and each consonant is pronounced; there are no silent letters. And unlike English, each Latin vowel and consonant has the same pronunciation in every word. So, you will find Latin spelling and pronunciation much easier than English.

Vowels. There are 5 vowels: A E I O U. You can pronounce them like the corresponding English vowels in the words: A in "tan" ~ E in "ten" ~ I in "tip" ~ O in "top" ... and the U like the "u" in "duo." 

Vowel length. The vowels in Latin can be long or short, although that is a distinction that is difficult for English speakers because in English, vowels can have different "quality" but that is not the same as the difference in "quantity," i.e. a long vowel versus a short vowel. A long vowel is literally pronounced for a longer time than a short vowel. In some Latin texts, the long vowels have a long mark above them: ā is a long a, for example. But the Romans did not mark the long vowels when they wrote in Latin, and in this blog I will not be marking the long vowels except when it is helpful in explaining the grammar. 

Diphthongs. There are also diphthongs, or vowel combinations, in Latin. The most common Latin diphthongs are AE, pronounced like English "eye" ~ AU, pronounced like the "ow" in "now" ~ and EI, pronounced like the "ay" in "may."  You will also see some Greek diphthongs; for example, OE which is pronounced like the "oy" in "boy."

Consonants. Some notes about consonants:

The C is always hard like in "cat."

The G is also hard like in "go."
The H was more of a stop-breath, not really a true consonant, but you can go ahead and pronounce Latin H like English "h" in "hat."

The J is a semivowel, like the English "y" in "yell."  
The V is like the English "w" in English "wet" (later, in Catholic Latin, it is pronounced like English "v").
The X is a double consonant, just like in English: X = "ks" like in English "box."

Word stress. There are rules for Latin word stress, but I'm not going to teach you the stress rules right away. Instead, I will be marking the syllables for you, with the stressed syllable in all-caps. My hope is that by reading out loud, you will actually figure out the stress rules on your own. It will be fun to see how that experiment works! Meanwhile, the most important thing right now is just to read out loud with a heavy stress so that you will have an auditory memory of how each word is stressed.

So-called "correct" pronunciation. My main advice about pronunciation is NOT to worry about so-called "correct" pronunciation. Instead, the most important thing is to read out loud. In other words: to ALWAYS read out loud! The way you learn a language is with your ears, not your eyes. That's why reading out loud is essential.

Practice. Here are some Latin proverbs and sayings you can use to practice reading out loud. There's audio for you to listen to, and I repeat each proverb twice so you have a chance to listen and then repeat with me. I've provided English translations; the words in parentheses are words we use in English but which are not words that appear in the Latin. (You'll learn more about that when we start the grammar in the next post!)

l. Scientia potentia. 

1. Knowledge (is) power.

l. Sci-EN-ti-a po-TEN-ti-a. 

2. Fortuna caeca est. 

2. Fortune is blind.

2. For-TU-na CAE-ca EST. 

3. Historia magistra vitae. 

3. History (is the) teacher (of) life.

3. His-TO-ri-a ma-GIS-tra VI-tae. 

4. Nulla rosa sine spinis. 

4. (There is) no rose without thorns.

4. NUL-la RO-sa SI-ne SPI-nis. 

5. Optimus magister bonus liber. 

5. (The) best teacher (is a) good book.

5. OP-ti-mus ma-GIS-ter BO-nus LI-ber. 

6. Vinum animi speculum. 

6. Wine (is the) mirror (of the) soul.

6. VI-num A-ni-mi SPE-cu-lum. 

7. Factis, non verbis. 

7. (By means of) deeds, not words.

7. FAC-tis, NON VER-bis. 

8. Stultorum infinitus est numerus. 

8. (The) number (of) fools is infinite.

8. Stul-TO-rum in-fi-NI-tus EST NU-me-rus. 

9. Post nubila Phoebus. 

9. After clouds (comes) Phoebus (Apollo, that is: the sun).

9. Post NU-bi-la PHOE-bus. 

10. Dubium sapientiae initium. 

10. Doubt (is the) beginning (of) wisdom.

10. DU-bi-um sa-pi-EN-ti-ae i-NI-ti-um. 

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