Latin Via Proverbs 168

I hope these notes will help you tackle this group of proverbs in Latin Via Proverbs. This group includes more present active indicative forms of the verb posse.

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 Study Guide material at the LatinViaProverbs.com wiki website.

Group 168

2160. I cannot be both here and there at the same time. (This saying is adapted from Plautus's Mostellaria.)

2161. I cannot carry a goat, and you are burdened me with an ox. (You can find this saying in Erasmus's Adagia, 2.7.96.)

2162. I cannot live without you or with you. (This saying is adapted from Martial.)

2163. You can often escape others, but you can never escape yourself. (You will find this saying sometimes attributed to Seneca.)

2164. You cannot reach the crown without a contest. (This saying is adapted in Thomas a Kempis.)

2165. You cannot love Tethys and Galatea at the same time. (You can find this saying in Erasmus's Adagia, 3.3.51.)

2166. You cannot serve God and mammon. (You will find this saying in the Book of Matthew.)

2167. We cannot all do everything. (This saying is found in Vergil's Eclogues.)

2168. We can do nothing against the truth. (This is Latin legal maxim.)

2169. We cannot change things in the past. (You will find this sentiment expressed in Cicero.)

2170. We cannot bear either our vices or the cures for them. (This saying is adapted from Livy.)

2171. A hundred men cannot strip a pauper. (Compare the similar saying about ten rather than a hundred, from Apuleius: nudum nec a decem palaestritis despoliari posse.

2172. The heavenly ones can do all things. (Compare a similar saying in Eramus's Adagia, 4.6.11: Dii omnia possunt.)

2173. The suns can set and return again. (You will find this sentiment expressed in Catullus.)

2174. Those who boast the most can do the least. (You can find a fuller form of the expression as follows: plerumque minima possunt qui plurima iactant.)

2175. Arrows can penetrate the stiff coat of mail. (You can find this saying in a couplet as follows: lorican duram possunt penetrare sagittae / sic cor derisus et mala verba meum, where the second part means: "So do scorn and harsh words penetrate my heart.")

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

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