Saturday, July 09, 2011

Scala 37 (1801-1850)

<== Go back to Scala 36 (1751-1800)

1801. Cave furem.

The verb cavere can take a direct object, as here, and as also in the famous saying you saw already: Cave canem.


1802. Facit occasio furem.

Compare the English saying, "Opportunity makes a thief."


1803. Nocte latent fures.

Here the ablative nocte expresses time: at night, in the nighttime.


1804. Nox furibus, lux veritati convenit.

Note the parallel structure: nox/lux and furibus/veritati, dative complements of the verb convenit.


1805. Amici sunt fures temporis.

You can find these words in the writings of Francis Bacon.


1806. Fur agnoscit furem, lupus lupum.

[agnosco: recognize, discern, realize] You can also find the saying in this form: Furem fur cognoscit, et lupum lupus. Compare the English saying, "It takes one to know one."


1807. In filiis suis agnoscitur vir.

[filius: son] These words are from the Biblical book of Sirach, 11.


1808. Omnes filii Dei estis.

You can find these words in Paul's letter to the Galatians, 3. Note that the word omnes modifies the unexpressed subject of the verb, estis: (you) all.


1809. Qualis pater, talis filius.

[pater: father] Compare the English saying, "Like father, like son."


1810. Patris est filius.

Note the genitive, patris. This is something like the English saying "he is his father's son."


1811. Ut pater, ita filius; ut mater, ita filia.

This saying works very nicely in Latin because of the natural relationship between the words "filius" and "filia" (unlike the disconnect between "son" and "daughter" in English).


1812. Labor gloriae pater.

Here "labor" gets to be a father because labor is a masculine noun. If you wanted to turn it around the other way, you could say: Laboris gloria filia (gloria is a feminine noun, so she would be the daughter of labor, her father).


1813. Mater semper certa est, pater numquam.

In a single saying you have here an honest admission about the anxiety that seems to account for much of the paranoid way in which men in patriarchal societies have sought to control the women.


1814. Non occidentur patres pro filiis, neque filii pro patribus suis.

The words are from the Biblical book of Deuteronomy, 24. Note the future tense, occidentur, which is being used here with the force of a command.


1815. Honora patrem tuum et matrem tuam.

[honoro: respect, honor] The words are from the Biblical book of Exodus, 20, the Ten Commandments. Here is the complete verse: Honora patrem tuum et matrem tuam, ut sis longaevus super terram, quam Dominus Deus tuus dabit tibi.


1816. Qui honorat parentes suos, se ipsum honorat.

As often, the antecedent of the relative pronoun has not been expressed: (Is), qui honorat parentes suos...


1817. Nummus honoratur; sine nummo nullus amatur.

Note the nice grammatical rhyme: honoratur-amatur.


1818. Honora dominum.

You can find this advice in the Biblical book of Proverbs, 3: Honora Dominum de tua substantia, et de primitiis omnium frugum tuarum da ei.


1819. Honorans alios, se ipsum honorat.

Compare the earlier saying, "Qui honorat parentes suos, se ipsum honorat." Note how the participial phrase here (honorans) accomplishes the same thing as the relative clause (qui honorat).


1820. Aliter enim cum alio agendum.

[enim: in fact, indeed] Here is another one of those aliter...alio proverbs: You have to deal with some people one way, and other people another way. (The impersonal gerundive, agendum, expresses a general command - you have to deal, one must deal, we need to deal...)


1821. Voluptatem fuge, parit enim tristitiam.

This proverb shows how enim needs to come second in its clause: parit enim tristitiam. The word enim is "postpositive," positioned after something else - it cannot come first in its clause.


1822. Omnis enim qui male agit, odit lucem.

You can find these words in the Gospel of John, 3.


1823. Honor enim virtuti debetur.

Compare this similar sentiment: Vera laus uni virtuti debetur.


1824. Nemo enim nostrum sibi vivit.

The words are from Paul's Letter to the Romans, 14. Note the use of nostrum as the genitive form of the pronoun nos: nemo nostrum, "no one of us."


1825. Mori enim naturae finis est, non poena.

This is from the rhetorical exercises of the Elder Seneca.


1826. Silent enim leges inter arma.

You can read about the history and usage of this saying at Wikipedia.


1827. E bello enim pax firmatur.

[firmo: strengthen, support, establish] Notice that enim needs to come in second position in its clause, but this does not mean that it is always the second word. The prepositional phrase "e bello" is treated as a single word unit, so enim follows that unit: e bello enim...


1828. Amore, more, ore, re firmantur amicitiae.

Notice the amazing play on words, as one letter is dropped each time: amore-more-ore-re. In addition to being incredibly elegant, the meaning is quite profound, too, as friendship really does depend on affection (amore), good character (more), the words friends speak (ore) and the things that they do (re).


1829. Animum prudentia firmat.

[prudentia: good sense, awareness, wisdom] This is a motto of the Brisbane family.


1830. Iram prudentia vincit.

You can see this motto included in a piece of printed currency from colonial South Carolina: image.


1831. Prudentia maior viribus.

The saying is adapted from Avianus's fable of the thirsty crow and the pebbles.


1832. Dilige prudentiam.

[diligo: select, cherish, approve, love] The word "diligo" literally means to "choose from" or "select" (compare the similar verb, eligo - from which we get the English word "election"). By extension, though, the word comes to mean "cherish" or even "love."


1833. Diligite iustitiam, qui iudicatis terram.

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.


1834. Omnes se ipsos natura diligunt.

Here the word natura could be either nominative or ablative - but since it cannot be the subject of the plural verb, then it must be ablative, meaning "by nature" or "naturally."


1835. Quisque semet plus amico diligit.

The form "semet" is an emphatic version of the reflexive pronoun "se." You can also find it used with the dative form: sibimet.


1836. A nullo diligitur qui neminem diligit.

Compare a similar idea in a saying you saw earlier: Si vis amari, ama.


1837. Inimicus, ut homo, diligendus est.

Here the gerundive expresses the idea of necessity or obligation; the masculine singular form agrees with the subject, inimicus: You must love your enemy in that he is a person.


1838. Si diligitis eos qui vos diligunt, quae vobis est gratia?

These words are from the Gospel of Luke, 6.


1839. Inimici diligendi sunt, sed cavendi.

Here you have gerundives being used to express the idea of a command: inimici diligendi sunt, "you should love your enemies," sed cavendi, "but you should also beware of them."


1840. Tu si me amas, canem meum dilige.

Compare the English saying, "Love me, love my dog."


1841. Bonos boni, malos mali diligunt.

The masculine plural endings let you know that this is a saying about people: Good people (boni) love good people (bonos)...


1842. Solus non est quem diligant dii.

Note the subjunctive diligant; this gives the statement a generalized quality: (anyone) whom the gods love.


1843. Amicus est quem diligis ut animam tuam.

The words are adapted from the Biblical book of Deuteronomy, 13.


1844. Diliges amicum tuum sicut teipsum.

Note the use of the future tense to convey the force of a command. The words are from the Biblical book of Leviticus, 19.


1845. Diliges proximum tuum sicut teipsum.

[proximus: nearest, neighboring, neighbor] You can find this admonition repeated many times in the Bible: citations.


1846. Quis est meus proximus?

This is a question put to Jesus in the Gospel of Luke, 10.


1847. Egomet proximus sum mihi.

Here you see the intensifying -met suffix used with the first-person pronoun, as you saw it used with the reflexive pronoun earlier: Quisque semet plus amico diligit.


1848. Quisque sibi proximus.

This is a much more solipsistic view of the world than what you find expressed in the Biblical admition that you should "diligere proximum tuum."


1849. Semper tibi proximus esto.

Here you see the same idea as in the previous saying, but this time expressed in the form of a command: esto.


1850. Tu quis es, qui iudicas proximum?

The words are from the Biblical letter of James, 4.


Scala 38 (1851-1900)

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