HABEO

The notes here are taken from the actual Scala, so be warned that references to the "previous" proverb refer to its order in the Scala, not its order here. You can read more about the word at the Verbosum blog: HABEO.

Res tuas tibi habe. ~ Note: This is a phrase that a spouse could use to request a divorce.

Qui non habet, ille non dat. ~ Note: This is a legal maxim in Latin, but it can also apply to human life in general.

Omnia tempus habent. ~ Note: These are the opening words of the Biblical book of Ecclesiastes, 3. Note that the plural verb, habent, lets you know that omnia is the subject of the verb, while tempus is the object.

Omnia tempus habent, omnia tempus habet. ~ Note: Note the different verbs: for habent, omnia must be the subject, but for habet, tempus must be the subject!

Habent omnia tempora sua. ~ Note: Compare the variation of "tempora sua" in this proverb and "tempus" above.

Bonum habe animum. ~ Note: This good advice shows up in Plautus's play, Captivi.

habeas corpus ~ Note: To find out more about this important legal maxim, check out the Wikipedia article.

Tuas res tibi habeto, tuas res tibi agito. ~ Note: This, too, was a formula for requesting a divorce; both habeto and agito are future imperatives, commonly found in ritualistic expressions.

Nihil dat qui non habet. ~ Note: Another Latin legal maxim.

Sibi quisque habeat quod suum est. ~ Note: Note the independent use of the subjunctive, habeat: "let each person have..."

Summum cape et medium habebis. ~ Note: This is one of the sayings Erasmus included in his Adagia, 2.3.25.

Sibi habeat suam Fortunam. ~ Note: Note the subjunctive, habeat: Let each person have their own luck.

Habet et bellum suas leges. ~ Note: This saying shows up in the English verse emblems of Whitney.

Legem non habentes, ipsi sibi sunt lex. ~ Note: The words are from Paul's letter to the Romans, 2.

Amor legem non habet. ~ Note: Compare the earlier saying about love not knowing how to stay within bounds: Nescit amor habere modum.

Qui rapit, habet. ~ Note: This is something like the English "finders keepers," although this is more like "grabbers keepers."

Nemo dat quod non habet, nec plus quam habet. ~ Note: Sometimes it helps to replace "nec" with "et non" just to see how all the pieces fit together: Nemo dat quod non habet, et non (dat) plus quam habet.

Dare nemo potest quod non habet. ~ Note: Notice how the verb phrase "potest dare" is elegantly wrapped around the subject: nemo. As often, the antecedent for the relative pronoun is implied but not state: Dare nemo potest (hoc) quod non habet.

Esse potius quam haberi. ~ Note: Compare the proverb you saw earlier: Magis esse quam videri oportet. Remember that the passive of haberi means "to be held, to be considered" - much like the passive meaning of "videri," "to seem." Because infinitives are considered to be neuter nouns you have the neuter comparative form of potis: potius.

Dulce est socios habuisse malorum. ~ Note: Note the use of the perfect infinitive: habuisse, "to have had." The infinitive is being used as a noun here, the subject of "dulce est."

Nescit amor habere modum. ~ Note: Virtue may consist entirely in moderation, but love is something that knows no bounds! That is what makes love so dangerous: it tends to excess.

Non refert quam multos, sed quam bonos libros habeas ac legas. ~ Note: The subjunctives habeas and legas are because of the indirect questions introduced by quam. Note also that refert is a contraction of re and fert ("it has to do with, it is a matter of"); it is not from the compound verb re-fero, "bring back."

Qui nihil habet, nihil perdit. ~ Note: Remember that it is sometimes helpful to add the word "can" when rendering a Latin verb into English, as here: "He who has nothing can lose nothing" (or, to use another English idiom, "has nothing to lose").

Talis esto, qualis haberi cupis. ~ Note: This offers the same advice as the previous saying, except that now the verb is not the passive videri but the passive haberi, which means "to be held, to considered."

Quo plus habent, eo plus cupiunt. ~ Note: If you listen closely, you can hear this proverb included in the lyrics of the Enya song, "Cursum Perficio."

Beatus est qui non cupit quae non habet. ~ Note: Compare the unfortunate person who suffers from endless desire: Quo plus habent, eo plus cupiunt.

Iuvat socios habuisse dolorum. ~ Note: Here the infinitive habuisse is the subject of the verb iuvat.

Forma numen habet. ~ Note: These words also come from Ovid's Art of Love, 3.

Oculos habentes non videtis et aures habentes non auditis. ~ Note: The words are from the Gospel of Mark, 8.

Oculis magis habenda fides quam auribus. ~ Note: The gerundive, habenda, expresses the idea of necessity or command, and agrees with fides, the subject of the sentence. Meanwhile, oculis and auribus are the dative complements of fides: You should put more faith in your eyes (i.e. what you see) than in your ears (i.e. what you hear). This is one of the sayings that Erasmus included in his Adagia, 1.1.100.

Dives est cui satis est quod habet. ~ Note: This expresses the same idea as the previous statement, this time through the notion of satis: enough.

Et lacrimae pondera vocis habent. ~ Note: You can find these words in Ovid's Heroides, 3, the letter of Briseis to Achilles.

Homo doctus in se divitias semper habet. ~ Note: Compare the saying you saw earlier: Sapiens sua bona secum fert.

Sapiens opes sibi secum habet semper suas. ~ Note: Here you see that the wise man has opes of his own, and that they are always with him. Compare the saying you saw earlier: Omnia bona mecum sunt. This particular saying is associated with the Greek wise man Bias, who explained why he did not need to try to salvage any material possessions when fleeing from the destruction of his native, Priene - a wise man has all he needs with him. The story is told in Cicero's Paradoxa.

Habet deus suas horas et moras. ~ Note: This proverb also plays on the nice rhyme of "hora" and "mora."

Utile est amicos veros habere. ~ Note: The complete saying from the Ad Herennium (sometimes attributed to Cicero): Utile est amicos veros habere, habeas enim quibuscum iocari.

Libros paucos legere utilius, quam multos habere. ~ Note: Here the contrast is between reading books and merely possessing them! "It is more useful (utilius) to read a few books (libros paucos legere) than (quam) to have many of them (multos habere)."

Metus cum venit, rarum habet somnus locum. ~ Note: This is another one of the sayings collected by Publilius Syrus.

Vicinum habere malum magnum est malum. ~ Note: Note that the infinitive is being used as a noun here, "vicinum habere malum" which is the subject of the verb. Note also how the object of the infinitive is wrapped around the infinitive, while the predicate noun phrase (magnum...malum) is wrapped around the verb. Very elegant!

Aliquid mali est vicinum malum habere. ~ Note: Note that aliquid can take a partitive genitive, as here: something (of) bad = something bad.

Homini nihil habenti nihil deest. ~ Note: The word nihil is the object of the participle, habenti: the man who has nothing (nihil habenti) lacks nothing (nihil deest). Note that the verb deest takes a dative complement: homini.

Minus habendum est, ut minus desit. ~ Note: The impersonal neuter gerundive, habendum, expresses the idea of necessity or a command: you should have less, in order to lack less (minus desit).

Nec habeo, nec careo, nec curo. ~ Note: You can read more about George Wither and his famous motto in this Wikipedia article.

Non qui parum habet, sed qui plus cupit, pauper est. ~ Note: This amplifies on the idea of the previous saying; again, it is a paradoxical definition of poverty not as lack (qui parum habet) but as greed or avarice (qui plus cupit).

Necessitas non habet legem. ~ Note: Compare the English saying, "Necessity knows no law."

Frustra habet qui non utitur. ~ Note: In other words: if something is to be useful, you need to use it - not just possess it. This is one of the proverbs you can find in Erasmus's Adagia, 3.9.20.

Imperium habere vis magnum? Impera tibi. ~ Note: Careful with vis here: this is not the noun vis, but the verb, second-person singular from volo.

Quis plurimum habet? Is qui minimum cupit. ~ Note: Proverbs love paradoxes, as here with the interplay between plurimum habere and minimum cupere.

Nescit quot digitos habeat in manu. ~ Note: The subjunctive habeat is because of the indirect question, introduced by quot.

Qui non habet equum, vadat pedibus. ~ Note: Note the subjunctive: vadat, "let him go, he should go, he needs to go."

Ut enim habeas quietem, perde aliquid. ~ Note: The words are from one of the sermons of Saint Augustine, 111.

Summum cape, et modicum habebis. ~ Note: Note the combination of imperative (cape) and future (habebis). You can also see the saying expressed with these words: Summum cape, et medium tenebis.

Habet suum venenum blanda oratio. ~ Note: This is another one of the sayings collected by Publilius Syrus.

Ne erigas oculos tuos ad opes quas non potes habere. ~ Note: Ne erigas oculos tuos ad opes quas non potes habere, quia facient sibi pennas quasi aquilae et volabunt in caelum.

Os habet in corde sapiens, cor stultus in ore. ~ Note: Note the parallel structure: os-in-corde/cor-in-ore (itself a parallelism) and sapiens/stultus. The idea is that the stupid person says just what he thinks and does not know how to be silent (see the previous saying: Nemo stultus tacere potest). You can also see this same idea in the truncated form: "Cor in ore, os in corde."

Melius est enim minus egere quam plus habere. ~ Note: The words are from the Regula of Saint Augustine of Hippo.

Ubi quis dolet, ibidem et manum habet. ~ Note: Note that quis here has the force of aliquis.

Honos habet onus. ~ Note: This proverb features a Latin play on words, honos-onus, which is impossible to convey in English (remember also that many Latin speakers dropped their "h" which makes these words even closer in sound: onos-onus).

Non est opus valentibus medico, sed male habentibus. ~ Note: Here you see the ablative complement with opus est (medico), as well as the dative complements (valentibus, male habentibus).

Ambulate dum lucem habetis. ~ Note: You will find this saying in the Gospel of John, 12.

Ambulate dum lucem habetis. ~ Note: Ambulate dum lucem habetis ut non tenebrae vos comprehendant.

Illum adiuvat, qui habet, pecunia. ~ Note: This saying is adapted from Cicero's De Finibus, 5.

Avarus aurum deum habet. ~ Note: Remember that the word "habere" can mean something like hold in the sense of consider: The miser considers gold (to be) a god.

Dum nihil habemus maius, calamo ludimus. ~ Note: These are the self-deprecating words of Phaedrus about the writing of fables.

Dum tempus habemus, operemur bonum ad omnes. ~ Note: Note the subjunctive: operemur bonum, "let us do what is good."

Patientia animi occultas divitias habet. ~ Note: This is another one of the sayings collected by Publilius Syrus.

Avaritia omnia vitia habet. ~ Note: The sound play of the Latin is very charming: avaritia - vitia, and we even hear an echo of that in our English derivates: it does sound like "avarice" has all the "vices" in it!

Vivas prudenter, gazas habeas sapienter. ~ Note: Vivas prudenter, gazas habeas sapienter, / non abscondendo, sed egenis distribuendo.

Tot sunt errores quot habet natura colores. ~ Note: Tot sunt doctores quot verno tempore flores; tot sunt errores quot habet natura colores.

Totidem domi hostes habemus quot servos. ~ Note: Compare the saying in the Adagia of Erasmus, 2.3.31: Quot servos habemus, totidem habemus hostes.

Necessitas non habet ferias. ~ Note: You can also see the idea expressed this way: Feriis caret necessitas.

Veritas et rosae habent spinas. ~ Note: Of course, the rose's thorns are literal... the thorns of truth are metaphorical!

Parca manus, labor assiduus, designat habere. ~ Note: Parca manus, labor assiduus, designat habere, / larga manus, labor insolitus, desistit habere.

Felicitas multos habet amicos. ~ Note: This is one of the sayings Erasmus included in his Adagia, 3.5.4.

Auriculas asini quis non habet? ~ Note: This phrase was coined by the philosopher Cornutus, and it alludes to the famous story of King Midas and his donkey ears.

Spem sicut anchoram habemus animae, tutam ac firmam. ~ Note: The words are from the Biblical letter to the Hebrews, 6.

Dii irati laneos pedes habent. ~ Note: This makes the same idea even more sinister: now the gods are enraged, irati! Compare the saying in the Adagia of Erasmus, 1.10.82: Dii laneos habent pedes.

Dei laneos pedes habent. ~ Note: The idea here is that woolen feet, laneos pedes, are quiet: you cannot hear them sneaking up on you!

Sed tacitus pasci si posset corvus, haberet plus dapis. ~ Note: Compare the saying in the Adagia of Erasmus, 4.1.94: Si corvus possit tacitus pasci.

Det pira, det poma, qui non habet aurea dona. ~ Note: This is one of the sayings collected by Wegeler, 235.

Faenum habet in cornu: longe fuge! ~ Note: The warning comes from Horace's Satires, 1.4. The idea is that the owner of a mean-tempered bull would tie a bit of hay around one of the bull's horns as a warning to watch out. Erasmus also discusses this saying in his Adagia, 1.1.81.

Habet et musca splenem. ~ Note: This is one of the sayings Erasmus included in his Adagia, 3.5.7.

In occipitio quoque habet oculos. ~ Note: Compare the saying in the Adagia of Erasmus, 3.3.41: In occipitio oculos gerit.

Equum habet Seianum. ~ Note: This is one of the sayings Erasmus included in his Adagia, 1.10.97.

Larga manus, labor insolitus, desistit habere. ~ Note: Parca manus, labor assiduus, designat habere, / larga manus, labor insolitus, desistit habere.

Numquid rugiet onager, cum habuerit herbam? ~ Note: Numquid rugiet onager, cum habuerit herbam, aut mugiet bos, cum ante praesaepe plenum steterit?

Alterum pedem in cymba Charontis habet. ~ Note: This is one of the sayings Erasmus included in his Adagia, 2.1.52.

Non omnes qui habent citharam citharoedi. ~ Note: This is one of the sayings Erasmus included in his Adagia, 1.7.7.

Prodigus pecuniam mox non habebit, ast avarus nunquam habet. ~ Note: From a verse by Scaliger: Prodigus pecuniam / mox non habebit, ast avarus nunquam habet.

Formicae sua bilis inest, habet et musca splenem. ~ Note: Compare the saying in the Adagia of Erasmus, 2.5.31: Inest et formicae et serpho bilis.

Tutius est vere morsum fugiendo cavere quam prope serpentem procumbere virus habentem. ~ Note: Tutius est vere morsum fugiendo cavere / quam prope serpentem procumbere virus habentem.

Illustrem gentem satis hic habet atque parentem, qui virtute suam nobilitat patriam. ~ Note: Illustrem gentem satis hic habet atque parentem, / qui virtute suam nobilitat patriam.