Latin Via Proverbs 124

I hope these notes will help you tackle this group of proverbs in Latin Via Proverbs. This group includes third conjugation verbs with second declension nouns and adjectives.

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. You can find more help at the LatinViaProverbs.com wiki website.

Group 124

1610. He's playing with someone else's skin. (In other words, someone else's life is at stake! You can find this saying in Erasmus's Adagia, 2.2.88.)

1611. He's buying a puppy in a sack. (This is the Latin equivalent of buying a pig in a poke.)

1612. He's drinking poison in a golden goblet. (You can find this saying in Seneca's Thyestes.)

1613. The year yields fruit, not the field. (In other words: time is the agent of change. You can find this saying in Erasmus's Adagia, 1.1.44.)

1614. The cowl does not make the monk. (This is a saying made famous by Shakespeare.)

1615. He's digging a pit next to a river. (In other words: he's wasting his time, because water will ruin his work. You can find this saying in Erasmus's Adagia, 3.3.69.)

1616. Sisyphus rolls his rock in vain. (In the afterlife, Sisyphus was punished by rolling a rock uphill that always rolled down and had to be pushed up again.)

1617. A crow does not tear out another crow's eye. (This can be found in Gregory of Tours, but compare Macrobius: tamquam cornix cornici oculos effodiat, "as a crow would dig out the eyes of another crow.")

1618. One stutter understands another best. (You can find this saying in Erasmus's Adagia, 1.9.77.)

1619. He rains on the just and on the unjust. (You can find this phrase in the Gospel of Matthew.)

1620. It rains wickedness when it rains gold. (This proverb always reminds me of the story of Midas and the curse of gold.)

1621. A bad associate drags his associate into bad deeds. (I really like the word order here with mala...malus and socium socius!)

---

This blog post is part of an evolving online guide for users of the book Latin Via Proverbs.

---

Keep up with the latest posts... Subscribe by Email. I also post a daily round-up of all the Bestiaria Latina blogs: fables, proverbs, crosswords, and audio.