Latin Via Proverbs 143

I hope these notes will help you tackle this group of proverbs in Latin Via Proverbs. This group includes more third conjugation verbs with 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. You can find more help at the LatinViaProverbs.com wiki website.

Group 143

1839. You're harvesting someone else's harvest. (You will find this in Erasmus's Adagia, 1.4.41.)

1840. You're fixing an egg back together with glue. (This always makes me think of Humpty-Dumpty!)

1841. You're making a rope out of sand. (This is another of those many "fool's errands" in the Latin proverbs; see the proverb about plowing in the dust below.)

1842. You're seeking help from the powerless. (There's a nice sound play in the Latin opem...impotente which I didn't manage to capture in the English!)

1843. You are making furrows in the dust. (You will find this saying in Juvenal.)

1844. You're taking up your shield too late, after having already been wounded. (You will find this saying in Ovid.)

1845. You're putting your loaves into a cold oven. (You will find this in Erasmus's Adagia, 4.7.1.)

1846. You are leaving your chicks in the care of the fox. (Compare similar sayings and stories about leaving the sheep in the care of the wolf, e.g., Lupi apud oves custodes.)

1847. You are stretching out your nets in vain to catch the aged crow. (Compare the English saying, "An old bird is not caught with chaff.")

1848. You are singing a song into the ears of a donkey. (There are many proverbs about the poor donkey's inability to appreciate music, and also an Aesop's fable on the same subject.)

1849. You are plucking the lion's beard when he is dead. (åYou will find this saying in Polydorus.)

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

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