Sunday, May 20, 2007

Latin Via Proverbs 90

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 90

1167. No one limps from another person's pain. (This is the opposite of Clinton's trademark "I feel your pain.") Nemo claudicat alieno ex dolore.

1168. The head is in charge, not the feet. (The Latin word caput means "head," but it also has the same connotations as English "head" as when we speak of the "head" of a corporation, etc.)

1169. The poor man can change his master, but not his fate. (This is a saying based on an Aesop's fable by Phaedrus.)

1170. The fox can change its coat, not its character. (There are many variations on this saying about both foxes and also wolves.)

1171. The wolf doesn't care about the number of the sheep. (You can read an essay about this saying at AudioLatinProverbs.com.)

1172. A mangy sheep infects the whole flock. (There are many variations on this saying, including this nice rhyming version: infecta ovis eiciatur, ne totum ovile inficiatur, "let the infected sheep be cast out, lest the whole sheepfold be infected.")

1173. When full, the mouse judges the flour to be tasteless. (You can read an essay about this saying at AudioLatinProverbs.com.)

1174. Gluttony kills more men than the sword does. (You can read an essay about this saying at AudioLatinProverbs.com.)

1175. Hangover kills more men than the sword does. (You can read an essay about this saying at AudioLatinProverbs.com.)

1176. The sword wounds the body, words wound the mind. (Notice the parallel structure: Ensis corpus vulnerat, mentem sermo [vulnerat].)

1177. In war the sword wounds; in peace, pleasure. (This is one of the sayings of Publilius Syrus.)

1178. A lazy youth creates an impoverished old man. (Notice the elegant Latin word order: A B b A creat.)

1179. Many a crime bounces back on the head of the doer. (You can read an essay about this saying at AudioLatinProverbs.com.)

1180. There stands a stone and a name only, no traces at all. (You can read an essay about this saying at AudioLatinProverbs.com.)


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