Today is a catch-up day to review any lesson(s) you missed this past week and/or to work on whatever kind of practice is most useful to you. There's also a slideshow below to help you review all the accusative nouns that you saw last week! Here are the lessons from this week, plus previous weeks:
And here's a slideshow you can use to review all the sayings with the accusative nouns, plus their cats! Remember that you can access the original post with more information by using the Sayings page or the Dictionary page which link to the relevant post.
I also made a printable crossword PDF with this week's sayings as the prompts; screenshots below.
The focus for today's lesson is more practice with the -am accusative nouns. Each time you see an -am noun ending in the proverbs today, you know that it is the object of the verb. The object might come after the verb (like in English) or it might come before the verb; either way, you know it is the object of the verb because of the accusative ending: -am.
Soon you will be learning the accusative endings for the other kinds of Latin nouns (2nd-declension, 3rd-declension, etc.), but for now the focus is on the 1st declension, where the theme vowel is -a- and the accusative ending is -am.
To get started, here is a little slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before: there are a lot of familiar words today!
And here are today's proverbs:
1. Ars perficit Naturam. Art perfects Nature.
ars PER-ficit Na-TU-ram.
The new verb here is perficit which means "perfects, completes, finishes." It is a compound of per-ficit, "completely-does," and you will see the uncompounded verb, facit, below. This Latin verb gives us English "perfect."
While you've seen some other sayings that make Nature superior to Art (for example: Omnis ars naturae imitatio est), this saying declares that it requires Art to bring Nature to perfection, as if Nature herself were otherwise incomplete.
You know all the words in this saying, and the idea is the same as in the previous saying, but now the goddess Minerva (Greek Athena), the goddess of wisdom and crafts, takes the place of Ars.
The new noun here is scarabeus (also spelled scarabaeus), which means "beetle," as in the English word "scarab."
This saying is from an Aesop's fable. There are quite a few sayings that come from Aesop's fables, like "sour grapes" (from the fable about the fox and the grapes) or "the lion's share" (about the lion and his hunting companions). The fable about the beetle and the eagle is less well known, but you can read it here: The Eagle and the Beetle. Short version: the eagle committed a crime against the beetle, so the beetle vowed revenge, and that's why the beetle is seeking the eagle... and that's bad news indeed for the eagle, because when the beetle finds the eagle's nest, he rolls all the eggs out and smashes them. So, the saying thus means that even someone who is powerless and weak, like the beetle, can seek revenge against the great and powerful, like the eagle.
4. Fortuna non addit sapientiam. Luck doesn't add wisdom.
for-TU-na non addit sapi-EN-tiam.
The verb addit gives us English "adds," and also words like "addition," etc. The verb is a compound of a verb you already know: dat, "gives." So, addit is ad-dit: "toward-give."
The idea here is that when someone is lucky and/or when they get rich, that doesn't mean that they will become wise.
5. Una linea geometram non facit. One line doesn't make a geometer.
una LI-nea ge-O-metram non facit.
The feminine una, "one," is new, but you've seen the masculine form, unus, before.
The feminine noun linea gives us English "line" and also words like "linear," etc.
The masculine noun geometra is borrowed from Greek, γεωμέτρης / geometres. It is a compound in Greek: geo-metres, "earth-measurer." You can see the same compound in English "geometry." (Yes, there are some masculine nouns that belong to the 1st declension, including other words borrowed from Greek, like poeta and pirata.) The verb facit, "makes," is the verb that gives us factum, a word you have seen before. You also saw a compound of this verb above: perficit.
There are a variety of Latin sayings that use this same formula; for example, Flos unus non facit hortum, "One flower does not make a garden." (See the -um ending there? That's the accusative ending for nouns of the 2nd declension; you'll be learning all about that soon too!)
And while I don't have a LOLCat for the beetle and the eagle, here is an illustration of that story: you can see the beetle taking revenge on the eagle by rolling the eagle's eggs out of the nest:
The focus for today's lesson focuses on sayings that have a repeated word. For example: Gratia gratiam parit, "Kindness produces kindness." In English, there is a different way of making this statement: "One good turn deserves another." Latin repeats the word: gratia gratiam, while English uses the phrase "one... another..." without actually repeating the noun.
Idiomatic expressions like these are the product of stylistic choices; they are not grammatical rules. English, in fact, does not always use this "one... another..." idiom. The saying "It takes a thief to catch a thief" uses a repetition that is like the Latin repetition.
So, learning a language is not just a matter of learning the vocabulary and grammatical rules; it is also a matter of learning the different styles of expression. That's why I try to focus on the Latin by itself, without the English, in the review exercises. The more you can immerse yourself in the Latin — in its vocabulary and rules, and also its style — the more you will develop the Latin part of your brain, and the more you will remember!
To get ready for today's new sayings, here's a little slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before:
The verb trahit means "pull, drag, attract," and you can see this root in English "tractor" and "attract."
The idea is that one worry brings on another, and another, and another.
Notice here that the word cura has a negative connotation: this is care or concern in the sense of being worried about something, being troubled. Compare the English saying, "Troubles never come singly."
2. Gratia gratiam parit. Kindness produces kindness.
GRA-tia GRA-tiam parit.
The noun gratia (accusative: gratiam) has a wide range of meanings in Latin: "thanks, kindness, friendship, grace, gracefulness." You can see this root in English "grace" and "gratitude," and also in Spanish gracias. When you "say grace" before eating, you are saying "thanks."
Compare the English saying, "One good turn deserves another."
3. Pecunia pecuniam parit. Money makes money.
pe-CU-nia pe-CU-niam parit.
You've seen all the words in this saying before! Compare the English saying, "It takes money to make money."
4. Iniuria non excusat iniuriam. (A) wrong doesn't excuse (a) wrong.
in-IU-ria non excusat in-IU-riam.
The noun iniuria (accusative: iniuriam) means "wrong, injustice, harm," and it gives us English "injury." The word is a compound: in-iuria, "in-justice, not-right."
Compare the English saying "Two wrongs don't make a right."
5. Furcifer non evadit furcam. (A) gallows-bird doesn't escape (the) gallows.
FUR-cifer non E-vadit furcam.
The verb evadit means "goes out, gets away, escapes," and it gives us English "evade." The word is a compond: e(x)-vadit, "out-go, goes out." The word furcam is the accusative form of furca, a two-pronged wooden stake; the Latin word gives us English "fork."
The furca was used as a form of punishment in ancient Rome. In the milder form of punishment, the victim's arms were tied to the prongs of the furca and he was forced to carry it, something like wooden stocks, but a mobile version. The furca could also be used for capital punishment: the victim was tied to the furca and then whipped to death, or the furca was used like a cross, and the victim was left to die of exposure. You can read more about ancient crucifixion at Wikipedia.
The noun furcifer is a compound: furci-fer, "fork-carrier, fork-bearer," and it refers to the mobile form of punishment. Someone who was literally carrying a furca was someone who had been branded a criminal; by extension, the word came to mean anyone who was a criminal or scoundrel. There are words like this in English: "hang-dog" is a bad dog who will be hanged sooner or later; "wag-halter," "gallows-bird," etc. I chose "gallows-bird" and "gallows" for the English translation, but there's really no way to translate this very Roman saying into English.
So, the idea is, literally, the criminal carrying his furca cannot escape his punishment and, in general, a criminal cannot escape being punished, sooner or later.
Per usual on Wednesday, there's a vocabulary slideshow quiz, with cats too! Here's a link to the full-size show. There's an English prompt and also some Latin sayings to help jiggle your memory: can you supply the Latin word? The next slide will tell you if you identified the word correctly. As always, if you want to review the notes and translation for a saying, you can use the Sayings list or Dictionary, which both have links to the original posts.
Here's another way that you can review: it's a slideshow with all the sayings so far, randomized. The English translation appears, linked to the original blog post if you want to review the notes. You've now seen literally hundreds of sayings, and reviewing some of them at random like this is really good practice! Reading Latin out loud is the best kind of review. Read slowly, with feeling... and hopefully you will start to "feel" the meaning in Latin, not English.
The focus for today's lesson is practicing some more with the -am accusative nouns from the 1st declension. Just like yesterday, you will see a variety of word order patterns, sometimes subject-verb-object (like in English), but you'll also see verb-subject-object, object-subject-verb, and subject-object-verb. The freedom of word order is one of the most important features of Latin style! So, as you read each saying, analyze the word order to see the different patterns.
To prepare for today's sayings, here is a little slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before:
So, here are today's proverbs:
1. Amat victoria curam.
Victory loves carefulness.
amat vic-TO-ria curam.
The verb amat, "loves" is related to words you have seen before: the participle amans, "loving," and the adjective amabile, "lovable."
This saying expresses the same idea as yesterday's Cura dat victoriam. This time, however, victoria is the subject, personifying "victory" as if it were a person... a person who loves, amat, carefulness, curam.
The 3rd-declension noun exceptio gives us English "exception."
The verb probat means "tests, demonstrates, approves," and this root gives us English "proof" and "prove," and also "probe."
The word regulam is the accusative of regula, "rule," which gives us English "rule" and also "regulate." The root of regula is the same that you have seen in the words rex (stem reg-), "king, ruler," and also regnum, "kingdom."
This Latin saying is the origin of the English saying: "The exception proves the rule." For details about this legal principle, see the wiktionary.
3. Minervam sus docet.
(The) pig is-teaching Minerva.
Mi-NER-vam sus docet.
The word Minervam is the accusative of Minerva, which is the Roman name of the goddess known as Athena in Greek, the goddess of wisdom and learning.
The 3rd-declension noun sus means "pig," and it is related to the English words "sow" and "swine." These words all come from the Indo-European root suH-.
The pig in this saying is a fool: there is nothing a pig could hope to teach Athena that the goddess of wisdom does not already know! If you are curious, you can listen to a discussion in Latinof this saying in this YouTube video: Sus Minervam.
The 3rd-declension noun cornix means "crow," specifically "she-crow."
The verb provocat gives us English "provoke" and "provocative." The Latin word is a compound: pro-vocat, "forth-call," i.e. "calls forth." You've seen the noun that gives the root of this verb: vox (stem voc-), "voice."
Like the previous saying, the idea here is that something absurd is happening: the crow might have a loud voice, but for a crow to squawk at a mighty bird like the eagle, provoking the eagle to a fight, is ridiculous.
5. Elephas muscam non curat.
(An) elephant doesn't worry (about) a fly.
E-lephas muscam non curat.
The 3rd-declension noun elephas gives us English "elephant." The -ph- is a clue that the word is of Greek origin, with "ph" being used to transliterate the Greek letter phi.
This saying takes up the same idea as the previous sayings, but from a different angle: a mighty animal like the elephant doesn't worry about something as small and unimportant as a fly.
Compare the English saying, "Don't sweat the small stuff."
Today is something new: the accusative case! So far you have learned the nominative case, which is used for the subject of the verb, along with the genitive case, which expresses possession. Now with the accusative case, the verbs can have objects.
We'll start with the accusative case of the 1st-declension nouns:
victoria: victory (subject of verb)
victoriae: of the victory, victory's
victoriam: victory (object of verb)
The accusative case ending is -m. Just add that -m to the -a- vowel that marks the 1st declension, and you get -am.
In English, we only have the accusative case for a few pronouns, and sometimes the English accusative ending is also -m, like in Latin: him is the accusative of he ("I saw him"), whom is the accusative of who, them is the accusative of they.
For English nouns, however, there is no accusative case marker. You cannot tell if a noun is the subject or object of the verb just by looking at the noun; instead, English uses word order, with the subject coming before the verb, while the object comes after the verb.
In Latin, the word order does not matter; what matters is the word ending. If you see the word victoria, then you know it is the subject of the verb; if you see the word victoriam, then you know it is the object of the verb.
So, as you look at today's sayings, pay close attention to the word endings, especially when the object comes before the verb and/or the subject comes after the verb. Anything is possible!
To get ready for today's sayings, here is a little slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before:
And now here are today's proverbs, each of which features an accusative 1st-declension noun (for today, I've underlined those accusative nouns to help them stand out):
1. Cura dat victoriam.
Carefulness bestows victory.
cura dat vic-TO-riam.
The verb dat means "gives, bestows," and you can see this root in English "data" and also "date."
The idea is that if you want to win, you need to take care, prepare, pay attention to what you are doing, etc.
Here the word order is the same as in English: subject-verb-object.
The noun copia, "abundance," is the root of English "copious," and you can also see the Latin word in "cornucopia." The word nauseam is the accusative form of nausea, which gives us English "nausea." The Latin word is a borrowing from Greek ναυσία, "seasickness" from the Greek word ναῦς, which mean "ship."
The verb parit means "gives birth to, produces," and it is the root of English "parent."
Compare the English saying "You can have too much of a good thing."
This time the word order, subject-object-verb, which is different from English subject-verb-object.
The word aquilam is the accusative of aquila which gives us English "eagle" and also "aquiline."
The verb vincit, "conquers, defeats, beats" can be seen in English "invincible" (i.e. un-beatable) and also "convince." The verb vincit shares the same root as the noun victoria.
This saying was used to refer to some surprising turn of events: in a race between the slow-moving tortoise and the swiftly flying eagle, of course the eagle would win... but — surprise! — this time the turtle beats the eagle, much like the tortoise defeats the hare in the famous Aesop's fable.
In this sentence, the object comes first!
4. Superbia anteit ruinam.
Pride precedes ruin.
su-PER-bia AN-teit ruinam.
The noun superbia, "pride," has the same root as in English "superb" and "superior."
The verb anteit, "precedes, goes before," is a compound: ante-it, "before-goes." You can see the ante in English words like "anterior" and "anteroom," and also the "ante" in poker.
The word ruinam is the accusative of ruina, "ruin, downfall, disaster." The noun is related to a verb you have seen before: ruit.
Compare the English saying "Pride goeth before a fall."
This sentence has the word order that you would have in English: subject-verb-object.
5. Industriam adiuvat deus.
God helps effort.
in-DUS-triam AD-iuvat deus.
The word industriam is the accusative of industria, "activity, work, effort," which gives us English "industry."
The verb adjuvat, "helps, assists," gives us English "adjutant."
Here you have yet another word order option here: object-verb-subject. This is exactly the opposite of English subject-verb-object word order.
Compare the English saying, "God helps them that help themselves."
