Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Latin Via Proverbs 85

I hope these notes will help you tackle this group of proverbs in Latin Via Proverbs. This is another group of proverbs with first conjugation verbs, along with first, second, and third declension nouns.

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 85

1113. Envy barks at the victor. (This phrase is adapted from Silius Italicus.)

1114. A cub is barking at a lion. (You can find this saying cited in Erasmus's Adagia 1.8.71 under the heading vespa cicadae obstrepent, "a wasp is trying to buzz louder than a cricket." As Erasmus explains, this is a saying for "someone with very little talent who is competing with someone far superior.")

1115. The crow is challenging the eagle. (This saying shows up in Erasmus's Adagia, 3.3.18.)

1116. Now the turtle is flying! (This is included by Claudianus in a list of "adunata," impossibilities, such as the vulture having horns, rivers flowing backwards, etc.)

1117. Scorpion cures scorpion. (The idea is that "like cures like." The scorpion was a talismanic emblem in medieval medicine, as recomended by Paracelsus.)

1118. Passion blinds the mind. (In other words, passion keeps you from thinking straight.)

1119. Love loves leisure. (The saying is found in Ovid's Remedia Amoris.)

1120. Dawn revives work. (Notice the nice sound-play in the Latin, aurora - laborem.)

1121. Booty calls the thief. (Compare a similar saying in Seneca: furem signata sollicitant, "sealed things instigate the thief.")

1122. Money accomplishes all things. (Compare the English saying, "gold opens all locks.")

1123. Poverty brings forth skills. (Compare a similar saying, Paupertas artes omnes perdocet, "poverty teaches all skills.")


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