POSSUM

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: POSSUM.

Non omnia possumus omnes. ~ Note: You can find this saying in Vergil, Eclogue 8. This is also one of the sayings Erasmus included in his Adagia, 2.3.94.

Dii omnia possunt. ~ Note: This is one of the sayings in Erasmus's Adagia, 4.6.11.

Non possunt primi esse omnes omni in tempore. ~ Note: The words are from Macrobius's Saturnalia, 2. Notice the elegant way "omni...tempore" wraps around its preposition!

Si vis, potes. ~ Note: You can find this saying invoked in Horace, Satire 2.6.

Aliud est velle, aliud posse. ~ Note: This is another of those "aliud…aliud" sayings. You can see here that the infinitive is like a noun, "to want is one (thing), and to be able to do it is another (thing)."

Bonus esse non potest aliis malus sibi. ~ Note: Note the parallel structure: bonus/aliis and malus/sibi. The adjectival phrase "bonus...aliis" wraps around the verb phrase, "esse non potest," while "malus sibi" is the subject.

Qui potest capere, capiat. ~ Note: This is a motto of the Gleg family.

Cura omnia potest. ~ Note: Here cura has the positive sense of concern, care, attention, etc. - By being careful, you can accomplish anything.

Plus potest plurium cura. ~ Note: Here you have a nice play on words with plus, neuter singular, and plurium, genitive plural: The care of more people can accomplish more.

Nullus omnia scire potest. ~ Note: You can also find the saying in these forms: "Nemo enim potest omnia scire" and "Nemo est, cui omnia scire datum sit."

Dum potes, vive. ~ Note: You can see this illustrated in Whitney's Emblems here: image.

Vivimus, non ut volumus, sed ut possumus. ~ Note: Note that this is the use of "ut" to mean simply "as" - ut possumus, "as we are able." Although Latin textbooks emphasize the use of ut with subjunctive verbs to create purpose and result clauses, it is also quite common to find "ut" used with indicative verbs simply to mean "as."

Nihil non potest fortis animus. ~ Note: Note that here the double negative does make a positive: There is nothing a brave heart cannot do = a brave heart can do anything.

Quis sine amico vivere possit? ~ Note: Note the subjunctive here: possit. This gives the question a hypothetical quality: Who could possibly live without a friend?

Alterius ne sit, qui suus esse potest. ~ Note: Note the genitive alterius - "ne sit alterius" means something like "do not become another's," i.e. do not become the slave of another, the servant of some other person.

Cuncta potest facere deus. ~ Note: Or, if you prefer: Cuncta potest facere Deus. I am really torn about what to do for the capitalization of singular instances of deus in the proverbs when I do the book in August - if people have ideas or suggestions about that, let me know!

Non possunt omnia simul. ~ Note: You can find these words used by Cicero in one of his Letters to Atticus, 15. The idea is that we cannot have everything at once, all things cannot be at the same time (simul).

Bene vixit is, qui potuit, cum voluit, mori. ~ Note: Notice how the verbal phrase, potuit...mori, wraps around the cum clause. Very elegant!

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.

Satis est beatus, qui potest, cum vult, mori. ~ Note: In addition to modifying verbs, adverbs can also modify adjectives, as here: satis beatus, "sufficiently blessed." This is another one of the sayings of Publilius Syrus.

Fortis cadere, cedere non potest. ~ Note: This proverb depends on word play of cadere and cedere in Latin.

Nemo potest dura naturae solvere iura. ~ Note: This is one of the sayings collected by Wegeler, 666. The rhyme, dura-iura, reveals the medieval provenance of this saying.

Satis est beatus, qui potest laetus mori. ~ Note: Note how the adjective laetus agrees with the subject of the verb potest; in English, we would probably use an adverb instead: qui potest laetus mori, "who can die happily."

Quantum potes, tantum aude. ~ Note: Here is another proverb built on the correlative use of quantum...tantum.

Unus nihil, duo plurimum possunt. ~ Note: Note the parallel structure: unus/duo and nihil/plurimum, with the verb serving for both.

Nemo potest scire, quis primus debet abire. ~ Note: This is one of the sayings collected by Wegeler, 667.

Tenere non potes, potes non perdere diem. ~ Note: The chiastic word order (non potes : potes non) adds to the charm of this sun-dial inscription, which lets you know that you cannot stop the passing of time, but it is within your power not to waste that time.

Nemo autem regere potest, nisi qui et regi. ~ Note: Notice the lovely play on words with regere (active infinitive) and regi (passive infinitive). Compare this earlier motto: Serviendo guberno.

Malum est consilium, quod mutari non potest. ~ Note: This is one of the sayings collected by Publilius Syrus.

Nullum consilium est quod mutari non potest. ~ Note: This is a variation on the preceding saying, which asserts that any plan can be changed!

Nil proprium ducas, quidquid mutari potest. ~ Note: Note how the subjunctive form here, ducas, has the force of a command. The verb ducere has the sense of "consider" - nil proprium ducas, "don't consider anything to be your own." Finally, the passive form mutari can be equivalent to the intransitive use of the English word "change" (as opposed to the transitive "change" = mutare).

Mihi crede: non potes esse dives et felix. ~ Note: This is from a collection of proverbs that circulated in the Middle Ages under Seneca's name (sometimes called the Liber Senecae, or the Proverbia Senecae).

Nemo tam iuvenis, quin ipse mori cito possit. ~ Note: Nemo senex adeo, quin annum vivere possit; / nemo tam iuvenis, quin ipse mori cito possit.

Qui potest maius, potest et minus. ~ Note: Note the adverbial use of "et" here, meaning something like "even" or "also." Note also that maius the neuter singular form of maior (plural: maiora), while minus is the neuter singular form of minor (plural: minora).

Nemo potest duobus dominis servire. ~ Note: The verb servire takes a dative complement: duobus dominis. The words are from the Gospel of Matthew, 6.

Nemo potest dominis digne servire duobus. ~ Note: Notice that the dative phrase, dominis duobus, wraps around the infinitive phrase, digne servire. Very elegant!

Nemo potest dominis pariter servire duobus. ~ Note: Note the adverbial form, pariter. You have seen similarly formed proverbs already, as in this motto: Fortiter, fideliter, feliciter.

Ne crede oculis; falli possunt. ~ Note: Note the passive infinitive, falli: they can be fooled.

Non omnes omnia possunt efficere. ~ Note: Money may be able to accomplish everything - but we are not all able to do everything! Compare the saying you saw earlier: Non omnia possumus omnes.

Mutare quod non possis, ut natum est, feras. ~ Note: The subjunctive possis sets up a hypothetical quality, something which you cannot change, no matter what. Meanwhile the subjunctive feras conveys the idea of a command or obligation: feras, "you should bear, you should endure," etc.

Bona nasci ex malo non possunt. ~ Note: Note here the infinitive form of the deponent verb: nasci, "to be born." Combine the infinitive with non possunt and you get "cannot be born, cannot be created."

Quis est ita sapiens, qui omnia plene scire potest? ~ Note: The words are from Thomas à Kempis, De Imitatione Christi.

Quid tibi pecunia opus est, si uti non potes? ~ Note: Note that pecunia here is in the ablative, since opus est takes an ablative complement. Note also the infinitive uti, from the deponent verb utor (uti, usum).

Omnia potest pecunia. ~ Note: Compare the sayings you have already seen: "Caritas omnia potest" and "Cura omnia potest."

Non revocare potes qui perierunt dies. ~ Note: Note here that the relative pronoun qui refers to the days that have passed by, the object of revocare: Non revocare potes (dies) qui perierunt.

Amicitia, nisi inter bonos, esse non potest. ~ Note: You can also find the saying in this form - Amicitia esse non potest nisi inter bonos viros - but the word "bonos," by itself, is able to convey the idea of "bonos (viros)."

Nec quae praeteriit hora redire potest. ~ Note: The warning comes from Ovid's Ars Amatoria, 3.

Mutare praeterita nemo potest. ~ Note: Here you see the verb mutare used transitively, with praeterita, "things past," as the direct object. You can also find this idea expressed with the first person plural: Praeterita mutare non possumus.

Frustra fit per plura quod potest fieri per pauciora. ~ Note: This is one of the various ways in which the principle of Occam's Razor has been formulated.

Caritas omnia potest. ~ Note: You can find this Christian sentiment in the letters of St. Jerome, 1.

Fraus est accipere, quod non possis reddere. ~ Note: Note the subjunctive possis, which gives the clause a hypothetical quality: "that which you could not possibly pay back."

Minima possunt, qui plurima iactant. ~ Note: Note the nice paradoxical parallel: minima/plurima and possunt/iactant.

Numera stellas, si potes. ~ Note: The words are from the Biblical book of Genesis, 15.

Odium numquam potest esse bonum. ~ Note: This is declaration by the 17th-century philosopher, Spinoza.

Fortunam nemo vitare potest. ~ Note: You cannot avoid Lady Luck, as Cicero tells us here, and you cannot fight with her either: Non est pugnandum cum Fortuna.

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.

Nemo stultus tacere potest. ~ Note: You can also find this same idea expressed as follows: Stultus tacere nescit.

Stultum est timere quod vitare non potes. ~ Note: As often, the antecedent of the relative pronoun is omitted: timere (hoc), quod... Note also that the infinitive used here as a noun, timere, agrees with the neuter adjective, stultum: "It is foolish to fear..."

Nihil possumus contra veritatem. ~ Note: This is a maxim of legal Latin, but it can also apply to life at large.

Impedit ira animum ne possit cernere verum. ~ Note: This is one of the sayings collected by Wegeler, 525.

Dulce etiam fugias, quod amarum fieri potest. ~ Note: Both dulce and amarum are being used substantively here: the sweet (thing) and the bitter (thing).

Avaritiam quid potest satiare? ~ Note: This question expresses the same paradox as the previous saying: you would think that money could satisfy avarice, but it does not - so, what then possibly could ever satisfy a miser...?

Somno, esca, potu, nemo carere potest. ~ Note: Here you can see that esca must be in the ablative, along with somno and potu, as required by the verb carere.

Nemo senex adeo, quin annum vivere possit. ~ Note: Nemo senex adeo, quin annum vivere possit; / nemo tam iuvenis, quin ipse mori cito possit.

Soles occidere et redire possunt. ~ Note: The implication, of course, is that while the suns in the sky do this, we mortals cannot.

Nummis atque Deo servire potest nemo bene. ~ Note: Note that the verb servio takes a dative complement: nummis atque Deo. Compare the words of the Gospel of Matthew, 6: Non potestis Deo servire et mammonae. (For more about the word mammon, see this Wikipedia article.)

Unusquisque facere se beatum potest. ~ Note: Note the predicate adjective, beatum, agreeing with the pronoun se, object of the infinitive verb: facere se beatum, "to make himself happy."

Veritas vulneratur, sed mori non potest. ~ Note: This saying features a nice sound play with veritas and vulneratur.

Nulla ditari ratione potestis avari. ~ Note: This is one of the sayings collected by Wegeler, 775: Nulla ditari ratione potestis avari; / vos faciunt inopes, quas cumulatis opes.

Si non potes bovem, asinum agito. ~ Note: The word agito is the future imperative of agere. Note that this proverb depends on an implied parallelism: Si non potes (agere) bove, asinum agito.

Quod potes, tenta. ~ Note: Again, the antecedent of the relative pronoun is implied but not stated: (Hoc), quod potes, tenta.

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.

Feras, non culpes, quod vitari non potest. ~ Note: This is one of the sayings that Erasmus included in his Adagia, 1.3.14.

Exercitatio potest omnia. ~ Note: This is one of the sayings Erasmus included in his Adagia, 2.2.53.

Momo satisfacere nihil potest. ~ Note: This is one of the sayings Erasmus included in his Adagia, 1.5.74 (Momo satisfacere).

Gallus in suo sterculino plurimum potest. ~ Note: This is one of the sayings Erasmus included in his Adagia, 4.4.25.

Inter os et offam multa intervenire posse. ~ Note: This is one of the sayings Erasmus included in his Adagia, 1.5.2.

Non potes Tethidem simul et Galateam amare. ~ Note: This is one of the sayings Erasmus included in his Adagia, 3.3.51.

Capram portare non possum et imponitis bovem. ~ Note: This is one of the sayings Erasmus included in his Adagia, 2.7.96.

Nihil est tam difficile, quin possit disci. ~ Note: Nihil est tam difficile, quin possit disci: nihil tam occultum, quin quaerendo inveniatur.

Si Deus ipse potest humanae ignoscere culpae, cur tu vis sancto sanctior esse Deo? ~ Note: Si Deus ipse potest humanae ignoscere culpae, / cur tu vis sancto sanctior esse Deo? (Sutor)

Promissis dives quilibet esse potest. ~ Note: Compare the saying in the Adagia of Erasmus, 4.3.54: Dives promissis.

Magnificus verbis quilibet esse potest. ~ Note: Bellaria / Alar: Aurea promittunt multi, vix aerea praestant; / magnificus verbis quilibet esse potest.

Qui recte didicit, recta docere potest. ~ Note: A solide doctis ars est repetenda magistris: / qui recte didicit, recta docere potest.