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 with all the sayings from the week... and their cats! Maybe you can just read them out loud again. Really loud! To really remember them :-)
I also made a printable crossword PDF with this week's sayings as the prompts; screenshots below.
The focus for today's lesson is the masculine accusative nouns and adjectives that end in -um. The examples today have some more complex sentence structure — complex by English-language standards, that is. In Latin, these kinds of sentences are easy and natural. Hopefully by reading the sayings out loud, you'll get used to the Latin patterns so that they will feel easy and natural to you too!
To prepare, here is a little slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before:
Ancient Roman culture put a high value on friends and friendship, as you can see from this saying. Compare some other sayings about the positive value of friendship: Bonus liber amicus optimus and Amicus optima vitae possessio.
2. Incus robusta malleum non timet.
(A) strong anvil doesn't fear (the) hammer.
incus ro-BUS-ta MAL-leum non timet.
There are a lot of new words in this one:
The noun incus means "anvil," and don't let it fool you: it ends in -us, but it is not a masculine noun of the 2nd declension; it is a feminine 3rd-declension noun (stem incud-). The word "incus" is used in English to refer to a tiny anvil-shaped bone in the ear.
The adjective robusta gives us English "robust." The form is feminine because it agrees with the feminine noun incus. The root of this adjective is the Latin noun robur which means "oak, hardwood," and by extension then refers to anything that is especially strong.
The word malleum is the accusative form of malleus, "hammer." You can see this root in English "malleable."
The verb timet, "fears," and has the same root as an adjective you've seen already: timidus.
The saying is literally true: if the anvil had feelings, it wouldn't need to be afraid of the hammer, no matter how hard the hammer is going to hit it; the anvil is going to be just fine. So, be like the anvil and don't underestimate your inner strength: you can be confident in that strength.
3. Avarum irritat, non satiat pecunia.
Money provokes (the) miser, (it) doesn't satisfy (him).
a-VA-rum ir-RI-tat, non SA-tiat pe-CU-nia.
The verb irritat means "stirs up, provokes, excites," often with negative connotations. This is where we get English "irritate."
The verb satiat gives us English "satiate." This word shares the same root with a Latin word you've seen already: satis.
Just as friendship is highly prized, greediness is deeply condemned, both in Roman culture and in later Christian culture also. You've seen other sayings like this which mock the rich miser who is not able to enjoy the money he has accumulated: Avarus semper est pauper, Avarus semper eget, and Avarus ipse miseriae causa est suae.
4. Suum custodit quasi thesaurum draco.
(He) guards his (stuff) like (a) dragon (guards his) treasure.
suum cus-DO-dit quasi the-SAU-rum draco.
The verb custodit, "guards, watches," is related to a noun you've seen already: custos (root custod-).
The noun draco gives us English "dragon." The word is originally Greek: δράκων (drákōn).
This is another saying about misers: dragons were emblematic of rich people who sit on top of their treasure, greedily guarding their wealth, but not enjoying it. For an Aesop's fable on this subject, see the fable of The Dragon and the Fox.
5. Scientia non habet inimicum nisi ignorantiam.
Knowledge has no enemy but ignorance.
sci-EN-tia non habet ini-MI-cum nisi ignor-AN-tiam.
The word inimicum is the accusative form of the masculine adjective inimicus. That form is new to you, but you've seen the feminine form before: inimica. The adjective is being used as a noun here: "enemy."
The Latin word nisi means, literally "not-if, not if." There are a variety of different ways to translate it into English: "unless, except, but." The word "but" fits best here.
Given that science is under siege in my country right now, this saying has acquired a new currency, sad to say.
The focus for today's lesson is more of those doubled subject-object statements. I've translated them literally below, repeating the word as in the Latin, but remember that you can also choose to translate these with the English "one/another" option: Asinus asinum fricat = "Donkey scratches donkey" or "One donkey scratches another."
Here's a review of the proverbs with this pattern that you've seen previously:
Cura curam trahit.
Gratia gratiam parit.
Pecunia pecuniam parit.
Nummus nummum parit.
Caecus caecum ducit.
Asinus asinum fricat.
Asinus asellum culpat.
Lupus lupum non edit.
Iniuria non excusat iniuriam.
Today's sayings contain almost all new vocabulary, so I haven't created a review vocabulary slideshow; instead, I made a slideshow of those doubled subject-objects.
The one familiar vocabulary item today is invenit, "finds, discovers," so here's a review-cat for that too!
The masculine adjective fatuus, "foolish," give us English "fatuous" and also "infatuate." The adjective is being used substantively, as a noun: "foolish (person), fool."
Compare the English saying "Birds of a feather flock together" or "It takes one to know one."
The masculine noun abyssus gives us English "abyss." The -y- is a clue that the word is Greek in origin. For more about the meanings of this word in the Bible and in Christian tradition generally, see Wikipedia: Abyss.
The verb invocat, "calls upon, invokes, summons," is a compound in-vocat, "on-calls, calls on." This is the root of English "invoke" and "invocation."
This phrase, originally from the Biblical Book of Psalms, has been used to mean that the soul calls out for God, where the abyssus refers to the depths of the spirit, but it has also been used to mean something like "one bad thing after another," where the abyssus refers to the depths of hell.
The adverb vicissim means "in turn, back-and-forth." This is the same vic- that you see in English "vice versa" (which is itself a Latin phrase).
The masculine adjective insanus gives us English "insane." It's a compound: in-sanus, "not-healthy," specifically "not-healthy in mind, insane."
The verb ridet, "laughs, mocks," which is the root of English "ridiculous."
This phrase comes from Erasmus's Moriae Encomium ("Praise of Folly").
5. Alius alium beatissimum existimat.
One (person) considers another (to be) happiest.
A-lius A-lium bea-TIS-simum ex-IS-timat.
The adjective alius means "another," and you can see this root in English "alias" and "alibi," which are actually both Latin words adopted by English.
The word beatissimum is the accusative form of the adjective beatissimus, "happiest, most blessed." It is the superlative form of the adjective beatus, "happy, blessed," and you can see that root in English "beatific."
The verb existimat, "values, reckons, considers," and it is a compound: ex-aestimat, which gives us English "estimate."
Compare the English saying, "The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence."
I got positive feedback for the new type of review slideshow, so I've done another one for this week! The slides have the English translations, plus the links back to the original posts... along with the cats.
Here are the instructions for how to use the slideshow as a quiz, and here's a link to the full-size show. You can click on the English translation to access the original blog post with notes for the saying. And remember: the key is to repeat over and over and over again, OUT LOUD. That's how you learn languages: with your ears, not your eyes. So, as you click through each slide, make sure to read the Latin aloud and enjoy the sounds. :-)
I hope that will be a good review! And I'll be back tomorrow with more sayings. And more cats. :-)
Now that you've gotten used to the nominative case and the accusative case, subject and object, I want to show you a special kind of Latin sentence where the verb is implied: you've got the subject, and you've got the object — and that's all you need! You'll see two examples of proverbs like that in today's post.
But first, here's a little slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before:
The feminine noun capra means "goat," and there is a masculine form also, caper. You can see this root in "Capricorn," the sign of the horned goat (capri-corn).
The word gladium is the accusative of gladius, "sword," which you have seen before.
So, you've got the subject, capra, and the object, gladium, and the implied verb is: found!
To understand how that works, you need to know the story that gives rise to this saying: there was a goat who was going to be sacrificed, but the priest could not find the sacrificial knife. Then the foolish goat, who was jumping and kicking and stirring up the dirt, uncovered that knife (some versions of the saying have the word knife, some have sword)... and so she was sacrificed after all.
Result: the proverb refers to someone who is their own worst enemy! This saying appears in other English languages also; for example, in Spanish: Escarbó el gallo, y descubrió el cuchillo, "The rooster scraped (the ground) and uncovered the knife."
2. Cornix scorpium.
(The) crow (grabbed a) scorpion.
cornix SCOR-pium.
The word scorpium is the accusative form of scorpius which gives us English "scorpion."
You've seen cornix before, the "she-crow," and that gives you the subject, and scorpium is the object... and the implied verb this time is "seized" or "grabbed."
This proverb also alludes to a story: a foolish crow grabbed onto a scorpion, thinking it would be something tasty to eat... but the scorpion twisted around and killed her. It's one of those sayings about how someone who plots evil for another may turn out to be the victim of their own scheme.
3. Corvus oculum corvi non eruit.
(A) crow doesn't pluck (another) crow's eye.
corvus O-culum corvi non E-ruit.
Here you see the masculine noun corvus, "he-crow," and you also see the genitive form, corvi. You can see this root in English "corvid."
The verb eruit, "casts out, rips out," is a compound: e(x)-ruit. You've seen the verb ruit before, which here has the sense of ripping rather than rushing or falling.
This proverb is like one you've seen before: Lupus lupum non edit.
4. Non tonsura facit monachum.
(The) tonsure doesn't make (a) monk
non ton-SU-ra facit MO-nachum.
The feminine noun tonsura gives us English "tonsure."
The saying is like the one you saw yesterday: Habitus non facit monachum.
This is a word order you have not seen before; usually non goes before the verb, but as you can see here, even that is not a fixed rule. This saying puts non in a strongly emphatic position, right at the start of the sentence.
5. Lupus pilum mutat, non animum.
(A) wolf changes (his) coat, not (his) mind.
Lupus pilum mutat, non A-nimum.
The word pilum is the accusative form of pilus, "hair, fur, coat." You can see this root in English "depilatory."
The verb mutat, "changes," gives us English "mutation."
The reference here is to the way some wolves change their coat for the winter, both for camouflage and for warmth. They may look different outside... but they are not different inside: they are still wolves!
The focus for today's lesson is more -um accusative nouns from the 2nd declension. Here's a review of the -um accusative words you have seen so far; notice how sometimes the accusative comes before the verb, and sometimes it comes after:
Cura angit animum.
Nemo videt oculum suum.
Lupus agnum vorat.
Vestis virum facit.
Nummus nummum parit.
Caecus caecum ducit.
Lupus lupum non edit.
Asinus asinum fricat.
Asinus asellum culpat.
Endymionis somnum dormit.
As you read through the sayings today, look where the subject and object are: before the verb? after the verb? And remember: this is not random; it's a matter of choice. Sometimes the choice is about emphasis, with the most emphatic words in a sentence (or clause or phrase) being the first word and the last word. Sometimes the choice is about sound, putting similar sounds next to each other. And yet another factor is parallelism: sometimes word order is about creating parallel structures inside a sentence or from sentence to sentence. So, as you read each Latin saying, see if you can identify what factor(s) might explain the Latin word order.
And here is a little slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before:
So, here are today's proverbs:
1. Non curat numerum lupus.
(The) wolf doesn't care (about the) number.
non curat NU-merum lupus.
The word numerum is the accusative of numerous which gives us English "number."
The idea is that the shepherd can count his sheep all he wants, but the wolf will still plunder the flock, killing and eating the sheep; the wolf doesn't care about the number of sheep that were counted.
Notice how both the subject and the object come after the verb, with an emphasis on the subject, lupus, in final position.
2. Placat victima parva Deum.
(A) small sacrifice pleases God.
placat VIC-tima parva Deum.
The verb placat, "appeases, pleases, pacifies," and gives us English "placate" and also "implacable."
The feminine noun victima means "sacrifice, sacrifical victim," and gives us English "victim." Because it is a feminine noun, it takes a feminine adjective: parva.
These words are from a neo-Latin poem which reads: Non quantum dederis, sed quanta mente dedisti, / Pensandum est: placat victima parva Deum, "What counts is not how much you might give, but with how much heart you gave: a small sacrifice pleases God.
3. Flos unus non facit hortum.
One flower doesn't make (a) garden.
flos unus non facit hortum.
The word hortum is the accusative of hortus, "garden," which you can see in English "horticulture."
As you can see, this saying is a variation on one you have seen before: Una linea geometram non facit.
4. Habitus non facit monachum.
(A) habit doesn't make (a) monk.
HA-bitus non facit MO-nachum.
The word monachum is the accusative of monachus, "monk," which gives us English "monk." As you can guess from the -ch-, the word is Greek in origin: μονᾰχός (monăkhós), from the root mon- which means "one, one only, alone" (as in English "monotonous").
You've seen the word habitus before, but it has a specific meaning here: the habit of a monk; for more, see the article in Wikipedia: Religious habit.
This saying is the opposite of one you saw before: Vestis virum facit. The idea is that someone can put on a monk's habit, but that does not make him a monk in spirit.
5. Philosophum non facit barba.
(A) beard doesn't make (a) philosopher.
phi-LO-sophum non facit barba.
The noun barba means "beard." Both Latin barba and English "beard" come from the same Indo-European root: bʰardʰéh₂. The word philosophum is the accusative of philosophus, which gives us English "philosopher." The -ph- in the word is a clue that it is of Greek origin: φίλος (phílos, “loving”) + σοφός (sophós, “wise”), i.e. "lover of wisdom."
This is the philosophical version of the previous saying: just as wearing a monastic habit does not make you a monk, having a beard does not make you a philosopher.
