Latin Via Proverbs 144

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

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 144

1850. I am seeking a man. (In other words, I am seeking a real man, an honest man. This is an allusion to the famous story of Diogenes and his lamp, which is also told as a story about Aesop in Phaedrus.)

1851. I trust to virtue, not arms. (This is a popular family motto. Note the dative with fidere.)

1852. I make of necessity a virtue. (You can also find this in the imperative: fac de necessitate virtutem.)

1853. I flourish in the storm. (This is a commonly found family motto.)

1854. I always fall on my feet. (Compare English, 'to always land on your feet.' Note that you can also fall at someone's feet, in pedes alicius cadere. Erasmus has the saying, Animus in pedes decidit, "His spirit sank to his feet," meaning something quite negative, when your spirits fall.)

1855. I cherish the golden mean. (Unfortunately, "mediocrity" has come to have all the wrong connotations in English for its positive use in ancient Latin, meaning moderation, neither too much nor too little.)

1856. I neither seek nor spern honor. (You can also find this motto using infinitive forms of the verbs: honorem nec quaerere nec spernere.)

1857. We seek lofty things. (You will find this as a family motto.)

1858. We always seek higher things. (You can also find this phrase in this form without a verb: ad altiora semper, "to higher things always.")

1859. We learn the potter's art from the large jar. (You will find this saying in Erasmus's Adagia, 1.6.15.)

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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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