I’m in a literature course, and on our sylabus, the day before Thanksgiving break, the day is labled “Quod libes.” The instructor said that that “libes” means “you want”, making the phrase translate as “Whatever you want.” Whitaker’s WORDS says:
libes V PRES ACTIVE SUB 2 S
nibble, sip; pour in offering/a libation; impair; graze, touch, skim (over)
So is “Quod libes” an idiom meaning “Whatever you want”, or is the phrase simply wrong? I only get 4 hits Google for the exact phrase and three of them are course sylabi, not installing a lot of confidence.
Thanks for your help, just looking for a little light.
I think Words is giving you libare (to nibble), which is why you see it listing a subjunctive form, when you really want to see libere (is pleasing). Thus libes is the second person singular indicative active. I’m used to seeing this as an impersonal verb in the third person (e.g., libet, it is pleasing), so I’m not exactly sure how the second person works with these types of verbs. (someone will surely chime in).
By the way, this is the same verb from which the phrase ad libitum (or ad lib) comes.
Salvete
It is my understanding that libet is only used impersonally. So I’m surprised to see this conjugated in second person. And I agree with edonnelly that this is definitely “libet” and not libare. Libet is sometimes combined with pronouns: Canis cuiuslibet generis - "a dog of whatever kind (?). This type of construction, I believe, is common at all periods. “Quodlibet” makes sense as the name of a class: “whatever you’d like”. So in the absence of further evidence, I’d say your unit/section/class (or whatever it is) is misnamed. Does the teacher know latin? The answer to this question might prove telling?
I assumed he knew Latin, but perhaps not. I believe, based on what I’ve seen and heard in class, that he’s familiar with (at least): Latin, Homeric and Attic Greek, Old and Modern English, Old and Modern French, Italian and Spanish. I would undoubtedly take him as a smart man, so perhaps it is just rustiness…or something.
Libere appears to be similar to the Spanish verb gustar, which rarely takes the form gustas, gusto, gustamos, etc. You almost always only see it as gusta or gustan. Still, it’s not perscriptively gramatically incorrect to say something like “Te gusto” for “I am pleasing to you”, although no one would actually do it (and it would probably more closely mean “You like me” or “You have a crush on me” anyway).
Unfortunately, if this is what libere means, then “Quod libes” means “Whatever you are pleasing to”, which doesn’t make a lot of sense in the context.
Also: the fact that WORDS doesn’t have an entry for libes, meaning that it’s explicitly programmed out, is telling that it’s use is incrediably queer, if not down right incorrect.
Anyway, thanks for helping to clear this up. Now back to my studies .
I’ve actually heard it used as ‘que…te gusto?’ before, but it was an incredibly pretentious male using a line that would surely have got his arse smacked a couple or three, that is if he wasn’t so confident while he said it.
as for libes, though in Álvarez’ dictionary it does translate as ‘gusta’ or ‘agrada’ etc., it is only listed as an impersonal: ‘libet (lub-), buit, bitum est, ere (con o sin dat.)’.
So yer teacher’s either messin’ with yer head, has some great knowledge of where it was used in the second person by some arcane author who has all but been lost, or, he’s just makin’ it up .
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