Here's this week's catch-up post to help you review any lesson(s) you missed this past week and/or to work on whatever kind of practice is most useful to you.
These were the lessons from this week, plus previous weeks, and you'll find the review slideshow below:
This is the slideshow with all the sayings from the week. You can read out loud, first with the English to remind you of the vocabulary... and then with the cat!
I also made a printable crossword PDF with this week's sayings as the prompts; screenshots below.
The focus for today's lesson is a mix for both 1st-conjugation infinitives in -are and 2nd-conjugation infinitives in -ere. (And yes, you guessed it: we will do 3rd-conjugation infinitives next week!)
And here is a little slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before:
Now here are today's proverbs:
1. Durum est natare contra impetum fluminis. (It) is hard to swim against (the) river's rushing-water.
durum est na-TA-re contra IM-petum FLU-minis.
The word natare is the infinitive of the verb natat, "swims." In English "natatorium" is a fancy way to say "swimming pool."
The neuter adjective durum agrees with the infinitive, which is a neuter verbal noun.
The word impetum is the accusative form of the noun impetus, a Latin word we also use in English: "impetus." The accusative completes the prepositional phrase: contra impetum; this is one of those prepositions that takes an accusative complement.
The word fluminis is the genitive form of the noun flumen, which you have seen before.
Compare the English proverbial saying "to swim upstream," meaning to act in a way that is contrary to what others are doing, perhaps even in a reckless or dangerous way.
2. Melius est enim minus egere quam plus habere. Indeed, (it) is better to-need less than to-have more.
ME-lius est enim minus e-GE-re quam plus ha-BE-re.
The word enim, "indeed, really, truly," is a post-positive participle in Latin, which means it always comes in second position. Usually second position means after the first word, but here it means after the phrase melius-est. (The placement of enim is a clue here that the word est was like an enclitic, so that melius-est was pronounced as if it were one word.) The word egere is the infinitive of the verb eget, and habere is the infinitive of habet, both of which you have seen before.
The neuter adjective melius agrees with the infinitives: melius est ... egere ... quam habere.
The words come from St. Augustine, and it's also very good advice for our modern cult of consumerism.
3. Melius est diabolum hostem quam hospitem habere. (It) is better to-have (the) devil (as) enemy than host.
ME-lius est di-A-bolum hostem quam HOS-pitem ha-BE-re.
Here is the infinitive habere again (habet is the most commonly used 2nd-conjugation verb).
The word diabolum is the accusative form of diabolus. It is accusative because it is the object of the infinitive: habere diabolum.
The word hostem is the accusative form of hostis, "enemy," as in English "hostile." The accusative form agrees with diabolum in this phrase: habere diabolum hostem, "to have the devil (as) an enemy."
The word hospitem is the accusative form of hospes, "host," as in English "hospitality." It also agrees with diabolum to create this phrase: habere diabolum hospitem, "to have the devil (as) host."
The words hostis and hospes are an odd pair in Latin; you might enjoy looking at the dictionary entries for each one: hostis - hospes. They both come from the same Indo-European root, and from that root we get English "guest."
4. Errare humanum est, perseverare autem diabolicum. To-err is human, but to-persist (is) diabolical.
er-RA-re hu-MA-num est, perseve-RA-re autem dia-BO-licum.
The word perseverare is the infinitive of the verb perseverat, "persist," which also gives us English "persevere." Meanwhile, the infinitive errare is from errat, which you have seen before.
The word autem, "but, however," is another one of those postpositives which goes in second position in its clause.
Both humanum and diabolicum are neuter adjectives, agreeing with the infinitives. You haven't seen diabolicum before, but it is just the adjectival form of diabolus and gives us English "diabolical."
As I mentioned, there are many variations on this popular saying which you first met earlier this week: Humanum est errare, divinum condonare.
5. Expedit iubam leonis tenere magis quam caudam vulpis. It-is-expedient to grab the lion's mane rather than the fox's tail.
EX-pedit iubam le-O-nis te-NE-re magis quam caudam vulpis.
The verb expedit means "removes impediments, expedites," as in English "expedient." The verb is a compound: ex-ped-it, "out-feet = gets the feet out (of shackles), unfetters." The word tenere is the infinitive of the verb tenet, which you have seen before, and it is the subject of the verb expedit.
The word iubam is the accusative of iuba, "mane," and leonis is the genitive singular of leo. The accusative iuba is the object of tenere.
The word caudam is the accusative of cauda which you have seen before; vulpis is the genitive of vulpes, "fox," as in English "vulpine." This is also the object of the infinitive: tenere caudam vulpis.
This is one of many Latin sayings which are based on the opposition between the bold, brave lion and the sneakier, cowardly fox.
Here's a recap:
Durum est natare contra impetum fluminis.
Melius est enim minus egere quam plus habere.
Melius est diabolum hostem quam hospitem habere.
Errare humanum est, perseverare autem diabolicum.
Expedit iubam leonis tenere magis quam caudam vulpis.
You learned the -are (-āre) infinitives for the 1st conjugation earlier this week, and now it's time for the infinitives of the 2nd conjugation. No surprise: the ending is -ere. That's a long e, -ēre, so the stress is going to be on the theme vowel, making it easy to recognize, just like with the -are 1st-conjugation endings.
Here are the 2nd-conjugation verbs you will see in today's sayings:
nocet. "harms" ~ nocere. "to harm"
manet. "stays" ~ manere. "to stay"
habet. "has" ~ habere. "to have"
tacet. "is silent" ~ tacere. "to be silent"
And here is a little slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before:
The word domi is a special form of the noun domus, which means "at home."
The word manere, "to stay," is from the verb manet, which you have seen before.
You haven't seen the neuter adjective tutum before, but you have seen the masculine form, tutus, and the feminine form, tuta.
The neuter adjective is the predicate of the sentence and the infinitive phrase domi manere, is the subject. The idea is that there are all kinds of risks in the world at large; the safe move is not to move at all: just stay home. Compare the saying that you've seen about the turtle safe inside its shell: Testudo intra tegumentum tuta; the shell is where the turtle is safe.
2. Primum: non nocere. First: not to-harm.
primum: non no-CE-re.
The word nocere, "to harm," is from the verb nocet, which you have seen before. The word primum is being used as an adverb here: "firstly." You can see this Latin root in many English words like "primary" and "primal."
This famous phrase has its own Wikipedia article: Primum non nocere. The Latin saying echoes the Greek words of the ancient Hippocratic Oath.
3. Res est magna tacere. To-be-silent is (a) great thing.
res est magna ta-CE-re.
The word tacere, "to be silent," is from the verb tacet, which you have seen before.
The infinitive tacere is the subject of the verb, and the noun phrase res magna is the predicate. Notice how the predicate noun phrase wraps around the verb: res est magna.
The phrase comes from an epigram by the classical Roman poet Martial.
4. Vicinum habere malum magnum est malum. To-have (a) bad neighbor is (a) great evil.
vi-CI-num ha-BE-re malum magnum est malum.
The word habere, "to have," is from the verb habet, which you have seen before. The word vicinum is the accusative form of the masculine adjective vicinum, "neighboring." When used as a noun, as here, it means "neighbor." You can see this root in English "vicinity." It's in the accusative because it is the object of the infinitive.
You have two different forms of malum in this saying: the first malum is masculine accusative, agreeing with vicinum, while the second malum is neuter nominative used as a noun: "(something) bad, evil."
Notice how the accusative phrase wraps around the infinitive, vicinum habere malum, while the nominative phrase wraps around the verb, magnum est malum.
5. Nil melius vere quam cum ratione tacere. Truly, nothing (is) better than to-keep-silent with (a) reason.
nil ME-lius vere quam cum rati-O-ne ta-CE-re.
Here's the infinitive tacere again.
You haven't seen the neuter form melius before, but you have seen the masculine form: melior. This is a comparative form, and quam is used to express the term of comparison: melius quam, better than.
You haven't seen the adverb vere before, but you have seen the neuter form of the related adjective: verum.
The word ratione is the ablative form of ratio, a noun you have seen before.
This saying praises silence, much like the saying from Martial above: Res est magna tacere. The difference is that this is a medieval rhyming proverb: vere-tacere.
Since you've been working on the 1st conjugation this week, I chose proverbs for the review that feature 1st conjugation verbs, both present and imperative, -at for those present-tense verbs and -a for those imperatives. So, see if you can figure out the 1st-conjugation verb to use to fill in the blank for each saying, and then check yourself by looking at the cat. Then repeat, and repeat again.
Here is a link to the full-size show, and the show is embedded in the blog post below. You can run the show from start to finish, so that the "quiz" slide comes first, or you can run the show starting from the last slide and working backwards, which gives you the "quiz" slide at the end of each set.
If you want to do even more reviewing (review review review! that's how you learn!), here are the review slideshows from Week 30, Week 29, and Week 28.
The focus for today's lesson is more practice with infinitives. Remember how I mentioned yesterday that the infinitive is a noun? Specifically, it is a neuter noun, and you will see some neuter adjectives in today's saying — neuter adjectives because they agree with the infinitive, a neuter noun.
But first, here is a little slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before:
And here are today's proverbs:
1. Cum Deo ambulare est animam salvare. To-walk with God is to-save (your) soul.
cum Deo ambu-LA-re est A-nimam sal-VA-re.
The infinitive salvare is from the verb salvat, "saves," which also gives us English "salvation."
The word animam is the accusative form of anima, and it is the object of the infinitive salvare.
The infinitives make this a rhyming proverb, ambulare - salvare, showing that this is a medieval, not a classical, Latin proverb.
2. Pugnare cum deo atque fortuna grave.
To-fight with god and (with) fortune is (a) serious (thing).
pug-NA-re cum deo atque for-TU-na grave.
The infinitive pugnare is from the verb pugnat, "fights," which also gives us English "pugnacious" and "impugn."
The infinitive is the subject of the verb, and the neuter adjectives grave, "heavy, serious," is the predicate. You haven't seen this neuter adjective before, but you have seen gravior, "more heavy, more serious."
The conjunction atque, "and," is not as common as et, but it is still very common: et is the single most commonly used word in Latin, and atque is the 19th most common. (You can use the Logeion dictionary online to get Latin frequency statistics.)
Remember that fortuna was a goddess in her own right: Fortuna, the personification of "luck" ("Lady Luck") or even "fate." That's why fighting with both God and Fate is a serious business; you are not likely to win.
3. Durum est contra stimulum calcitrare.
(It) is (a) hard thing to-kick against (the) goad.
durum est contra STI-mulum calci-TRA-re.
The infinitive calcitrare is from the verb calcitrat, "kicks," which also gives us English "recalcitrant." The word durum is a neuter adjective; it is the predicate, and the infinitive is the subject of the sentence.
The word stimulum is the accusative form of stimulus, a Latin word that we use in English: "stimulus." The preposition contra takes an accusative complement: contra stimulum.
The stimulus here is a sharp cattle goad; when the ox fought against it, the goad got stuck even deeper in its flesh: the more you resisted, the more you suffered.
This saying is actually found in the Biblical Book of Acts. Saul (Paul) has a vision of Jesus, and Jesus says these words to him: Saule, Saule, quid me persequeris? durum est tibi contra stimulum calcitrare, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks."
4. Amare pulchrius palam quam clanculum.
(It is) more-beautiful to-love openly than secretly.
a-MA-re PUL-chrius palam quam CLAN-culum.
The neuter adjectives pulchrius, "more beautiful," is the comparative form of the neuter adjective pulchrum, which you have seen before. The neuter adjective agrees with the neuter noun, the infinitive amare.
The adverb palam means "openly," and the adverb clanculum means "secretly." You can see that root in English "clandestine."
5. Humanum est errare, divinum condonare.
To-err is human, to-forgive divine.
hu-MA-num est er-RA-re, di-VI-num condo-NA-re.
The infinitive condonare is from the verb condonat, "kicks," which also gives us English "condone."
The neuter adjective humanum can be seen in English "human," and the neuter adjectives divinum in English "divine" (you've seen the masculine form divinus before).
This is one of the most famous Latin sayings, and we will see different variations on it in the coming weeks!
The focus for today's lesson is some new: the infinitive! This is the form of the verb that corresponds to the "to" form in English.
In Latin, the infinitive is how you recognize the different conjugations, so you will be learning the infinitive endings one conjugation at a time, starting with the 1st conjugation.
To form the 1st-conjugation infinitive, you just take the stem and add the ending -are. It's a long a, āre, so that means the stress is going to be on that vowel, making it easy to hear!
Here are the infinitives you will see in today's sayings:
festinare, "to hurry," from the verb festinat, "hurries"
tentare, "to try, attempt," from the verb tentat, "tries"
celare, "to hide, conceal," from the verb celat, "hides"
servare, "to keep, observe," from the verb servat, "keeps"
regnare, "to rule, reign," from the verb regnat, "rules"
Just like in English, the infinitive is a verbal noun. So, that means the infinitive can be the subject of another verb, and it can also be the predicate of a verb, as you will see in the sayings for today.
At the same time that the infinitive is like a noun, it also still functions like a verb. For example, an infinitive can take a direct object in the accusative; you'll see examples of that in today's sayings also.
And here is a little slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before:
You already know both of these words. The idea is that you don't really save time by hurrying. Instead, you run the risk of making things worse if you rush through something.
Compare a saying you saw earlier about the downside of doing things in a hurry: Festina lente, "Make haste (but do so) slowly."
2. Tentare non nocet. (It) doesn't hurt to-try.
ten-TA_re non nocet.
The infinitive tentare, "to try, attempt," comes from the verb tentat. You can see this root in English "tentative" and also "attempt."
The infinitive is serving as the subject of the verb nocet.
Compare the English phrase, "There's no harm in trying."
3. Ars est celare artem. Art is to-conceal art.
ars est ce-LA-re artem.
The infinitive celare, "to hide, conceal," comes from the verb celar. You can see this root in English "conceal" and "ceiling."
The word artem is the accusative form of ars, and it is serving as the object of the infinitive celare.
Meanwhile, that infinitive phrase, celare artem, is the predicate of the sentence.
The Latin word ars has a wide range of meaning from "art" or "skill" but also "artifice" or "trick," so you could also translate this as "The trick is to conceal the trick."
4. Fraus est celare fraudem. [It is] fraud is to-conceal fraud.
fraus est ce-LA-re fraudem.
You see here the nominative fraus and the accusative fraudem, which gives us English "fraud." This accusative is the object of the infinitive celare.
Just like in the previous saying (on which it is modeled), the infinitive phrase, celare fraudem, is the predicate of the sentence.
This is a legal principle: it is one thing to commit fraud, and then to conceal that fraud constitutes a second fraud.
5. Legem servare est regnare. To-reign is to-observe (the) law.
legem ser-VA-re est reg-NA-re.
You already know all the words in this saying!
The word legem is the accusative of lex, and it is serving as the object of the infinitive servare. This infinitive phrase, legem servare, is the predicate of the sentence, while the infinitive servare is the subject of the sentence.
Remember that the root of Latin regnare is rex (stem reg-), and you have seen the connection between lex and rex before, as in the saying Rex est lex vivens.
The idea is that the king must obey the law himself; being king means keeping the law. Alas, this is something that King Trump does not seem to understand, but it was central to medieval political theory, as in this bit of Latin verse: Decet Regem discere legem. / Audiat Rex quod praecipit lex. / Legem servare hoc est regnare, "It behooves the King to learn the law. / Let the King listen to what the law commands. / To observe the law: that is what it means to rule."
