Friday, July 22, 2011

Scala 50 (2451-2500)

<== Go back to Scala 49 (2401-2450)

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2451. Hodie mihi, cras tibi.

[hodie: today] The verb is not stated here, and would come from the context, based on how you are using the saying. Consider this context: you can find words like these inscribed on tombstones!


2452. Ille hodie, ego cras.

Like the previous saying, context is crucial. One way you could use this saying is if you see someone enjoying something you also want to enjoy, you can comfort yourself with the thought that he may have it today, but you will have that tomorrow!


2453. Quod hodie non est, cras erit.

This is an optimistic saying - whether tomorrow ever actually comes or not, of course, is a different question!


2454. Cras credo, hodie nihil.

Although the Latin word "credo" has a range of meaning that reaches far beyond English "credit," you can sometimes see this motto in bars, where customers are expected to pay their bill, and not drink on credit!


2455. Fac hodie: fugit haec non reditura dies.

The future participle, reditura, tells us more about the day: it is running off (fugit) and will not return (non reditura).


2456. Rex hodie est, et cras morietur.

Note the future tense: morietur. The words are from the Biblical book of Sirach, 10.


2457. Vive hodie.

Compare the saying you saw earlier: Vive in diem.


2458. Hodie, non cras.

This is a good motto for people trying not to procrastinate (now you can appreciate the cras in procrastination!).


2459. Hodie nullus, cras maximus.

This is one of the sayings collected by Erasmus in his Adagia, 4.1.88.


2460. Hodie nihil, cras omnia.

This is a variation on the previous saying but this time with nihil-omnia in place of nullus-maximus.


2461. Praestat aliquid quam nihil.

[aliquis: someone, something, anything] Recall that the verb praesto can introduce a comparison: Something is more outstanding (praestat) than nothing.


2462. Malum quidem nullum sine aliquo bono.

The words are adapted from Pliny the Elder's Natural History, 27.


2463. Aliquid mali est vicinum malum habere.

Note that aliquid can take a partitive genitive, as here: something (of) bad = something bad.


2464. Ut enim habeas quietem, perde aliquid.

The words are from one of the sermons of Saint Augustine, 111.


2465. Quid pro quo.

Note that quid here has the force of aliquid, "something for something." Even though this Latin phrase, either in the form quid pro quo or in the form qui pro quo, is widely found in various European languages, its origins are not entirely clear. It may come from a medieval Latin usage in pharmaceutical prescriptions, involving the substitution of one ingredient for another (see Tosi 319 for a discussion).


2466. Bona nemini hora est, ut non alicui sit mala.

This is another one of the sayings collected by Publilius Syrus.


2467. Ne quid nimium.

Note that quid here has the force of aliquid (it is very common to find that the ali- disappears after the words si, nisi, num and ne). There is no verb here because this saying forbids anything being taken to excess!


2468. Ne quid falsi.

Note that quid here again has the force of aliquid, and it is in a partitive genitive construction: (ali)quid falsi, "something (of) false" = "something false." The verb is not specified; the saying is against any falsehood - saying, thinking, committing, etc.


2469. Ne temere quid loquaris.

Again, aliquid here has the force of aliquid: do not say anything rashly.


2470. Ne tu aliis faciendum trade, factam si quam rem cupis.

[trado: hand over, deliver, surrender] Note that quam here has the force of aliquam: if you want anything (aliquam rem) to get done (factam).


2471. Aude aliquid, si vis aliquid esse.

The words are adapted from Juvenal's first satire.


2472. Aude aliquid dignum.

[dignus: worthy, suitable, appropriate] This is another adaptation from Juvenal's first satire.


2473. Perdere est dignus bona, qui nescit uti.

The adjective dignus can take an infinitive complement, as here: perdere bona. The verb nescit also takes an infinitive complement: uti.


2474. Ne crepitu quidem digiti dignum.

Note that the phrase ne...quidem wraps around the word that it is emphasizes: crepitu. The word dignum takes an ablative complement: crepitu digiti, "a snap of the finger(s)."


2475. Beneficium dando accepit, qui digno dedit.

This is another one of the sayings collected by Publilius Syrus. Note the gerund in the ablative case: dando, "by means of giving, by giving." So, paradoxically, you receive something (beneficium accepit) by giving, provided that you have given to someone worthy (digno).


2476. Nemo potest dominis digne servire duobus.

Notice that the dative phrase, dominis duobus, wraps around the infinitive phrase, digne servire. Very elegant!


2477. Detur digniori.

Note the subjunctive, detur: Let it be given. This is a Latin legal maxim which obviously has applications to life in general!


2478. Detur dignissimo.

This is a variation on the previous saying, this time with the superlative, dignissimo, instead of the comparative, digniori.


2479. Digna dignis eveniunt.

[evenio: come out, turn out, happen] Compare the saying you saw earlier: Bona bonis contingunt.


2480. Bonis non semper bene evenit.

Again, compare the more optimistic saying that you saw earlier: Bona bonis contingunt.


2481. Dis iuvantibus, omnia feliciter evenient.

The phrase "dis iuvantibus" is an ablative absolute. Note also the future tense: evenient. (It's all a matter of vowels: present indicative, eveniunt; subjunctive, eveniant; future, evenient.)


2482. Omnia fato eveniunt.

You can find this idea discussed in Cicero's De Fato and also in his treatise De Divinatione, 2: Si omnia fato, quid mihi divinatio prodest?


2483. Quod timeas, citius quam quod speres, evenit.

This is another one of the sayings collected by Publilius Syrus.


2484. Cras alia evenient.

Notice the future tense: evenient.


2485. Alia ex aliis eveniunt.

This is another of those "aliud…aliud" sayings: One thing happens as a result of one thing, other things as a result of other things.


2486. Mala malis eveniunt.

Compare the saying you saw earlier: Digna dignis eveniunt.


2487. Malum bene positum ne moveas.

[pono: put, place, set] Note that the phrase "bene positum" modifies the object of the verb: don't disturb an evil thing that is well arranged (or, we might say in English, "under control"). Compare a similar saying in Erasmus's Adagia, 1.1.62: Malum bene conditum ne moveris.


2488. Qui laqueum alii ponit, peribit in illo.

You will find this saying in the Biblical book of Sirach, 27.


2489. Modum nescit ponere voluptas.

Compare the saying you saw earlier: Nescit amor habere modum.


2490. Pone irae frena modumque.

[frenum: bridle, reins, harness] Note that both frena and modum are in the accusative, objects of the imperative verb: pone.


2491. Alter frenis eget, alter calcaribus.

[calcar: spur] This is an "alter...alter" saying, very much like the many "aliud...aliud" sayings you have seen earlier: One person needs reins, another person (needs) spurs.


2492. Equo currenti calcar ne addas.

[equus: horse] Note the use of ne plus the subjunctive to express a negative command: ne addas.


2493. Equus alienus velociter currit.

The idea is that if you are riding someone else's horse, rather than your own, you push the horse to go faster: Equus conducticius, aut alienus, facit brevia miliaria, vel velociter currit, quoniam sine misericordia agitamus illos.


2494. Equus me portat, alit rex.

You can find this saying in Erasmus's Adages, 1.7.20. The story goes that a soldier, when he became eligible for discharge, did not want to give up the military life, since he had a horse to carry him (equus me portat) and the king to feed and keep him (alit rex).


2495. Qui non habet equum, vadat pedibus.

Note the subjunctive: vadat, "let him go, he should go, he needs to go."


2496. Ab equo ad asinum.

The saying describes a sharp decline in fortune! You can also find this saying in the plural: Ab equis ad asinos.


2497. Ab asinis ad equos.

This describes a positive improvement in fortune, just the opposite of the previous saying.


2498. Non est absque suo fortis equus vitio.

Notice how the predicate phrase, absque suo vitio, wraps around the subject, fortis equus. Very elegant!


2499. Praestat equum esse quam bovem, et lupum quam ovem.

Recall that the verb praesto can express a comparison, as here: It is more outstanding (praestat) to be a horse than an ox.


2500. Equi optime noscunt equites suos.

[eques: horseman, equestrian, knight] To catch the play on words, you would need to translate eques as "horseman," making clear the etymological connection to the word "horse," equus.


Scala 51 (2501-2550)

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