Latin Via Proverbs 175

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

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 175

2260. God gives to whom he wishes to. (This was the motto of Erik XIV, king of Sweden in the 16th century.)

2261. The spirit blows where it wills. (Compare the Biblical saying in John 3: Spiritus ubi vult spirat.)

2262. The lazy man wants, and doesn't want. (The saying is from the Biblical Book of Proverbs, 13.)

2263. He who wants everything, loses everything. (Compare the fable of the kite and the partridges in Odo of Cheriton, with this moral: qui totum capit, totum perdit.)

2264. He who wants the means, wants the ends. (This is a saying from the Latin legal tradition, which appears in various forms, e.g., qui vult finem, vult media, etc.)

2265. The cat wants to take the fish, but he shudders at the river. (You can find this phrase in many forms, including this nice rhyming version: Cattus piscari non vult, sed pisces cibari..)

2266. The cat eats fish but doesn't want to get his feet wet. (You can find a story about a cat trying to get some fish in Odo of Cheriton.)

2267. The hungry stomach will not sing willingly. (You can find this saying discussed in Tosi, 721.)

2268. The donkey prefers straw to gold. (Compare the Aesop's fable about the rooster who prefers barley to pearls.)

2269. He who will not sow the fruit should not have it. (You can find this saying discussed in Tosi, 809.)

2270. He who wants to do wicked deeds never fails to find a reason. (You can find this saying in Publilius Syrus.)

2271. He who wants to beat a dog easily finds a stick. (Compare the English saying, "If you want to throw a stone, every lane will furnish one.")

2272. Luck enriches those whom she wishes; if not, she grinds them underfoot. (You can find this saying in the Carmina Burana.)

2273. He whom Jupiter wishes to destroy, he first makes mad. (You can also find this saying about the goddess Fortuna: Stultum facit Fortuna, quem vult perdere.)

2274. He whom Mercury wishes to destroy, he first makes mad. (You can also find this saying with a generic deus instead: Quem deus vult perdere, prius dementat.)

2275. The saying, "good wishes," means nothing unless he does good deeds. (You can find this saying in Plautus.)

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