Hello all,
I recently received a book called Latin Via Proverbs, written by Laura Gibbs, the creator of http://bestlatin.net, an excellent Latin resources that some of you are probably familiar with. The basic premise of the book is reviewing Latin grammar through proverbs. The 4000 (!) or so that she’s compiled are organized according to grammatical categories. It’s rather like a huge supplement to Wheelock’s or any given textbook, except that these examples are interesting and meaningful.
here’s the link to the publisher’s site - http://www.lulu.com/content/370912and the companion website - http://latinviaproverbs.com/
I thought I’d post some of the proverbs I haven’t gotten yet. If any of you have any suggestions, I’d love to hear them! (If you can’t tell, these are all from the declension practice…hence the absence of any verbs aside from esse).
- Intacta invidia media sunt
-Perhaps I’ve just stumbled upon the meaning of this one: moderation (=media) is untouched by envy?
- Ut apes geometriam
-What’s the implied verb here? doceo? So, “it’s like teaching geometry to bees,” since doceo can take a double object. Any thoughts?
- Summum ius summa iniuria
The highest right is the highest injury. Huh?
- Amor diurnus nocturnusque comes
[It/he/she is] my daily love and my nightly companion. But what’s the point here?
- Post est occasio calva
I’m rendering this, “afterwards, the opportunity is bald.” Does this mean, “if you wait too late, you miss your chance”? Does bald have this suggestion?
- Littera custos historiae
“The letter is the guard of history.” Does this mean that written records ensure our knowledge of the past? It’s a bit telegraphic.
- Stercus optimum vestigium domini.
“Dung is the best track/trace/footstep of the lord/landowner.” This may be some sort of injunction for landowners to investigate their own property. Otherwise, I’m really lost.
- Via ovicipitum dura est
I couldn’t find “ovicipitum” in my dictionary, but I’m guessing it’s a combination of ovis (or possibly ovum) and capio, so maybe “sheep thief” (like the English “horsethief”). If so, we might render it “horse thieves have a hard life.” Is that right?
- Patris est filius
“The son is the father’s.” Is this equivalent to the English, “Like father, like son”? Or maybe it suggests that the father has the right to control/direct/influence the son…
- Vivis piscibus aqua, mortuis vinum.
“Live fish get water, dead ones wine.” I’m not sure in what sense dead fish have wine. Does this suggest that, on the table, fish are served with wine? If so, is this supposed to be an exhortation for modest living? It’s a pretty obscure point, though perhaps this reflects a cultural given that no longer holds true.
Regards,
David
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