I hope these notes will help you tackle this group of proverbs in Latin Via Proverbs. This group features various forms of the Latin adverb.
Please note: to read the proverbs in Latin, you need to acquire a copy of the book from lulu.com! What I am providing here in the blog are notes to help people who are making their way through the book either in a Latin class or on their own.
Group 75
989. Slowly but surely. (This is a popular family and school motto, as at University College School in Hampstead.)
990. Not rashly but forcefully. (This is another popular family motto. Don't confuse Latin fortiter, "forcefully, strongly, bravely" with the expression forte, "by chance, luckily.")
991. Neither rashly nor timidly. (Another family motto. Notice the nice sound-play of tem...tim....)
992. Neither slowly nor swiftly. (Another family motto in praise of the "golden mean" when it comes to speed.)
993. It is hardly done well and quickly. (The idea is that if you do something in a rush, you are not likely to do a very good job of it.)
994. Fast enough, if safely enough. (Another family motto, the idea being that if you accomplish something safely, you've done it quickly enough.)
995. Too quickly, less successfully. (You can find this proverb in Bernard of Clairvaux.)
996. Neither extravagantly nor stingily. (This expression is found in The Rule of the Holy Fathers Serapion, Macarius, Paphnutius, and Another Macarius.)
997. Either now or never. (The phrase "Now or never" is very commonly used in English, too, of course!)
998. Swiftly, safely, happily. (Notice the two very common varieties of adverbial forms here, in -o and in -e. There is no absolute rule for which adjective forms its adverb with -o and which forms it with -e. This is something you have to learn, word by word.)
999. Beautifully, well, rightly. (You can find this saying in Horace's Ars Poetica.)
1000. Strongly, faithfully, happily. (Unfortunately, the alliteration of this Latin motto is lost in the English translation. This has been a motto of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity.)
This blog post is part of an evolving online guide for users of the book Latin Via Proverbs.
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