Saturday, July 31, 2010

TERRA

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: TERRA.

Omnes terra sumus. ~ Note: Note that omnes (masculine plural) agrees with the implied subject of the verb: Omnes (nos) terra sumus.

Terra es, et in terram ibis. ~ Note: You can see this phrase represented as a "word rebus" here: image.

Nihil in terra sine causa fit. ~ Note: You can find these words in the Biblical book of Job, 5.

Terra corpus est, at mens ignis. ~ Note: The words go back to the archaic Roman poet, Ennius.

Qui de terra est, de terra loquitur. ~ Note: You can find these words in the Gospel of John, 3, and the saying is included by Polydorus in his Adagia, B32.

Nihil novum super terram. ~ Note: Nihil is the subject and novum is the predicate adjective: nihil (est) novum, "nothing is new." You can also find the saying in this form, Nil novi super terram, which is slightly different: nil novi is a noun phrase meaning "nothing new" (partitive genitive), so it would be rendered in English: "there is nothing new."

Sol stat, sed terra movetur. ~ Note: Be careful with the movetur: in Latin, the passive form is used to express what would be in English an intransitive verb, "the earth moves."

Redditur terrae corpus. ~ Note: This is included by André Rouillé in his anthology of Cicero's notable sententiae.

Sit tibi terra levis. ~ Note: This is a phrase you could find carved on Roman gravemarkers, often abbreviated S.T.T.L.

Omnia de terra facta sunt et in terram pariter revertentur. ~ Note: Note the future tense: revertentur.

Terrae, ad quam pergis, cape mores, quos ibi cernis. ~ Note: This is one of the sayings collected by Wegeler, 1362. Note that terrae goes with mores: cape mores terrae, adopt the habits of the land. Compare the English saying, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do."

Omnes homines terra et cinis. ~ Note: The words are from the Biblical book of Sirach, 17.

Non est ad astra mollis e terris via. ~ Note: This is one of the sayings collected by Wegeler, 727.

Terra amat imbrem. ~ Note: This is one of the sayings Erasmus included in his Adagia, 2.3.64.

Amicitia vera, rara avis in terra. ~ Note: Notice the nice rhyme here: vera... terra. Compare the saying you saw earlier: Amicus certus, rara avis.

Alia terra alios mores postulat. ~ Note: This is another of those "aliud…aliud" sayings. The "alia terra" here is like the "cuique genti" of the proverb cited above - the land stands by metonymy for the people who live in that land.

Vox sanguinis clamat de terra. ~ Note: The words from the Biblical book of Genesis are: Vox sanguinis fratris tui clamat ad me de terra. The saying is included by Polydorus in his Adagia, B428.

Novos caelos et novam terram expectamus, in quibus iustitia habitat. ~ Note: The words are from the Biblical letter called 2 Peter, 3.

Omne quod exoritur, terra fit et moritur. ~ Note: This is one of the sayings collected by Wegeler, 804.

Diligite iustitiam, qui iudicatis terram. ~ Note: Notice that the antecedent of the relative pronoun is the subject of the imperative diligite: Diligite iustitiam (vos), qui iudicatis terram. The words come from the Biblical book of Wisdom, 1. This saying is included by Polydorus in his Adagia, B307.

Vos estis sal terrae. ~ Note: You will find these words in the Gospel of Matthew, 5, and the saying is included by Polydorus in his Adagia, B49.

E terra spectare naufragium. ~ Note: This is one of the sayings Erasmus included in his Adagia, 5.1.38.

Sapientis quaevis terra patria. ~ Note: This takes the previous proverb and makes it more specific: any land at all can be the homeland of the wise man. Already in the ancient Mediterranean world, the wisdom traditions were enthusiastically cosmopolitan!

Quaevis terra alit artem. ~ Note: This is one of the sayings Erasmus included in his Adagia, 1.7.33. You can also find the same idea expressed this way: Quaevis terra alit artificem.

Quaevis terra patria. ~ Note: This compound pronoun, quivis, is made up of the familiar qui pronoun plus "vis" - "you want," from the verb volo, so the pronoun means "whatever you want, anything you like," etc. So the idea here is that any country at all can be your homeland - not just the country you were born in. This is one of the sayings Erasmus included in his Adagia, 2.2.93.

Vae terrae, cuius rex puer est. ~ Note: This saying is included by Polydorus in his Adagia, B314.

Tuam ipsius terram calca. ~ Note: This is one of the sayings Erasmus included in his Adagia, 4.4.17.

terra incognita ~ Note: For the use of this Latin phrase in cartography, see this Wikipedia article.

In terra non omni generantur omnia. ~ Note: Note how the prepositional phrase "in terra omni" wraps around the negative non. The subject of the sentence, omnia, is in final position.

Iucundissima navigatio iuxta terram, ambulatio iuxta mare. ~ Note: This is one of the sayings that Erasmus included in his Adagia, 1.2.91.

Terra omnia aufert, rursus et refert parens. ~ Note: This is a saying by Janus Anysius (Giovanni Aniso); his sayings were sometimes published together with the ancient sayings of Publilius Syrus.

Concordes duo sunt in caelo sidera fratres; in terra unanimes vix reor esse duos. ~ Note: An epigram by Owen.


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