Need help in translating this

[sapientes]

This should be a very simple statement from<br />Publilius Syrus:<br /><br />Inopiae desunt multa; avaritae omnia.<br /><br />(Inopia, Inopiae, f. Neediness.)<br /><br />I am having trouble to understand the role of<br />the dative case here -- both for Inopiae, and for its<br />counterpart avaritae. The translation I came up with is<br />this:<br /><br />Many fail in neediness; everyone fails in greed.<br /><br />But it just doens't sound right.<br /><br />thx.<br /><br /><br /><br />

[vinobrien]

They are datives, multa and omnia are nominative neuter plurals so it reads<br /><br />many things are lacking to poverty, everything is lacking to greed<br /><br />or to make it neater<br /><br />the poor lack much, the greedy lack everything.

[sapientes]

Thanks!<br /><br />I like the 'neater' version -- it turns the<br />syntax upside down, as it were -- the<br />datives become subjects in the translation,<br />and the nominatives -- direct objects. Now it<br />is clear why it was tricky for me.<br /><br /><br />thx<br /><br />