Latin Proverbs: Sicut / Sic... Ut

Something came up that made me think about collecting some "sic...ut..." proverbs, which is a way of expressing a simile in Latin; here are the words sic and ut in the Latin dictionary, and you can also find them written as one word: sicut (or sicuti).

Here are some proverbs to practice with:

Sicut vita, finis ita.

This is a rhyming medieval Latin proverb! The word "ita" is used like "sic" and "ut" for making comparisons.

Sicut fecisti, fiet tibi.

Note the perfect (fecisti) and future (fiet) verb forms.

Sicut canis ad Nilum, bibens et fugiens.

There is an Aesop's fable about the dog running alongside the Nile, fleeing the crocodiles. Here's an illustration from a 1701 edition of Phaedrus:

Sicut umbra dies nostri super terram.

This is an inscription sometimes found on sundials, where the passage of time is marked by a shadow. The phrase itself comes from the Biblical Book of Job.

Fac aliis sicut tibi.

As you can see, the "sicut" does not have to come first. 

Dilige vicinum, sicut te diligis ipsum.
Diliges proximum tuum sicut teipsum.

Both of these statements express the same idea but with slightly different syntax.

Ut tibi sic alteri.

Here you see the "sic" and "ut" coordinating separate phrases, with the verb "fac" implied; compare the saying above: Fac aliis sicut tibi.

Ut flatus venti, sic transit gloria mundi.

This saying is sometimes shortened to just the second half: Sic transit gloria mundi.

Ut panis ventrem, sic pascit lectio mentem.

Notice how the verb is supplied in the second part of the saying, but it goes with both parts: Ut (pascit) panis ventrem, sic pascit lectio mentem.

Ut strasti lectum, super hunc sic vade cubatum.

Compare the English saying, "As you make your bed, so you must lie in it," with "as" and "so" playing the same role as Latin "ut" and "sic" do.

Nudus ut in terram veni, sic nudus abibo.

Notice that the "ut" does not have to come first, and putting the adjective "nudus" first gives it more emphasis.

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Latin Proverbs: Cado compounds

Yesterday I did proverbs with the verb cado, and today I want to look at compounds of cado. When cado is compounded, the root goes from cad- to cid- so you get compounds like incido (fall into), decido (fall down, drop), recido (fall back), and occido (fall down, sink); I've linked to the dictionary entry for each of those verbs. 

An important thing to note is that the root -cid- has a short i, while there is also a root -cīd- with a long i, from the verb caedo, meaning "cut, strike, kill," which is where you get a word like occīdere, for example, meaning "to kill" and similarly for other compounds of caedo. So, pay attention to the context; that will help you figure out which verb you are looking at. That might be based on the meaning required by the context and/or by the syntax; the verbs formed from cado do not take a direct object, while the verbs formed from caedo usually take an object.

So, here are some proverbs with compounds of the verb cado:

Celsae graviore casu decidunt turres.
The noun "casus" is also derived from the same root as the verb "cado." Notice how the the noun phrase wraps around the whole saying: Celsae...turres. Compare the English saying, "The bigger they are, the harder they fall."

Dum vito fumum, flammam in ipsam decido.
The chiastic structure puts the words "fumum" and "flammam" right next to each other for emphasis, and also for the alliteration.

Fumum fugi, in ignem incidi.
Fumum fugiens, in ignem incidi.
Cineres evitans, in carbones incidi.
Notice how the finite verb, fugi, can be replaced by a participle: fugiens, and likewise evitans.

Incidit in prunas, cupiens vitare patellam.
Incidit in flammas, cupiens vitare favillas.
These forms of the saying use the third-person form: incidit.

Ne cinerem vitans in prunas incidas.
Ne cineres fugiens in prunas incidas.
Notice how the negative subjunctive wraps around the whole statement: Ne...incidas.

Fugiens ursum, incidi in leonem.
Compare the preceding proverb with "fumum" and "ignem" instead of "ursum" and "leonem."

Effugiens Charybdim, incidi in Scyllam.
Evitata Charybdi, in Scyllam incidi.
For more about twin perils of Charybdus and Scylla, see Wikipedia. Notice also how the active participle phrase, "effugiens Charybdim," can be replaced by an ablative absolute, "evitata Charybdi."

Alessandro Allori

Incidisti in foveam quam fecisti.
Qui fodit foveam, incidet in eam.
The first version of this saying is in the second person, "incidisti...fecisti" with perfect verbs, while the second version uses third-person verbs, present and future: "fodit...incidet."

Dum alterum vitium devitat, incidit in alterum.
Dum alterum vitium evitant, in alterum incidunt.
Here you see both singular and plural verbs of the saying.

In expuentis recidit faciem, quod in caelum expuit.
In faciem recidit, quidquid in astra iacit.
Compare the English saying, "don't spit into the wind."

Sol ne occidat super iracundiam vestram.
This saying is inspired by the Bibilical Letter to the Ephesians, 4.26.

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Latin Proverbs: Cado

This set of proverbs is for vocabulary building; all the proverbs below have some form of the verb cado-cadere, and then tomorrow I will share some proverbs that have compounded forms of this verb too. :-)

In pedes semper cado.
Compare the English idiom "to land on your feet."

Non uno ictu arbor cadit.
Non uno ictu cadit quercus.
The idea is that it takes many blows, not just one. 

In pratis ut flos, sic cadit omnis honos.
This is a rhyming medieval proverb, with the verb implied in the first part: In pratis ut (cadit) flos...

Dormienti vulpi cadit intra os nihil.
The idea is that you can't catch anything while you're sleeping; even the fox is going to have to wake up and get to work!

Fugis patellam et cadis in prunas.
Qui fugit patellam, cadit in prunas.
Compare the English saying, "out of the frying pan, into the fire."

PeakPX

Inter os et offam multa cadunt.
Inter calicem et os multa cadunt.
Compare the English saying, "There's many a slip 'twixt cup and lip."

Semper bene cadunt Iovis tesserae.
Semper Iovis feliciter tali cadunt.
Iudice Fortuna, cadat alea.
These are all ways of talking about different kinds of dice in Latin: tesserae, tali, alea (click on the links to read about each one). Note the subjunctive: cadat.

In laqueos quos posuere cadant.
Note the subjunctive form: cadant. The verb "posuere" is a shortened form of the perfect: posuerunt. (You'll find this in Ovid's Ars Amatoria.)

Quidquid excelsum est, cadet.
Note the future tense form: cadet.

In foveam cecidit quam fecerat ipse.
Note the perfect tense: cecidit. Compare the saying about "in laqueos" above.

Ubi libertas cecidit, audet libere nemo loqui.
Note the perfect tense here also.

Bene cogitata saepe ceciderunt male.
Note the perfect tense plural: ceciderunt.

Gutta cavat lapidem non vi, sed saepe cadendo.
Note the gerund: cadendo ("by falling"). Here is an expanded form of that saying: Gutta cavat lapidem, non vi, sed saepe cadendo; sic homo fit doctus, non vi, sed saepe legendo.

Cadenti porrige dextram.
Here you see the participle in the dative: "to someone who is falling."

Cadente quercu, quilibet ligna colligit.
Here the participle makes an ablative absolute: cadente quercu. The idea is that anybody at all can come get firewood when the oak falls down on its own, even people who didn't do any work to make it happen. You can find this saying in many other forms:
Cadente quercu, quivis ligna colligit. ("quivis" is a synonym for "quilibet")
Cadente quercu, ligna quisquis colligit. ("quisquis" is another synonym for "quilibet")
Cadente quercu, quilibet ligna secat. ("secat" here instead of "colligit")
Cadente quercu, ramos quivis amputat. ("ramos amputat" instead of "ligna colligit")

William Henry Hunt

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Latin Proverbs: Tum / Tunc

After yesterday's proverbs about DUM, I thought I would follow up with a post about tum and its suffixed form tunc. 

The words cum, tum, and dum are all very common temporal conjunctions in Latin, and for more about conjunctions generally here is the Allen and Greenough section on conjunctions, very nicely presented at the Dickinson College Commentaries site. You can also learn a lot from the dictionary entries; here are Logeion links: dum, tum, tunc.

So, here are some examples:

Si deficit faenum, tunc accipe stramen.
The word "faenum" means hay, while "stramen" is less desirable straw.

Esto laborator; deus est tunc auxiliator.
Compare the English saying "God helps them that help themselves." The word "esto" is an imperative ("be!"), and notice that "tunc" does not have to go first in its clause.

Very often you will see tum / tunc used in connection with cum:

Tunc scimus, cum causas cognoscimus.
It's not just enough to know what things are happening; you need to know why things happen.

Tum demum bona cognoscimus, cum ea amisimus.
As Joni Mitchell sang, "You don't know what you've got till it's gone."

Tunc alios culpa, cum tu fueris sine culpa.
Note the emphatic use of the pronoun "tu" here. The first "culpa" is a verb and the second is a noun.

Tunc canent cygni, cum tacebunt graculi.
Why don't we hear swans singing? Because the noisy jackdaws of the world (metaphorically speaking) never shut up! Note the future tense verbs.

swan from USFWS

Cum contentus eris, dives tunc efficieris.
Note the future tense verb forms: "eris" and "efficieris." Note that "tunc" does not have to come first in its clause.

Iratus, cum ad se rediit, sibi tum irascitur.
Remember that the verb "irascor" is a deponent; "irascitur" means someone "gets angry" (or, if you want a form that sounds passive in English, someone "is angered").

You can also see tum/tunc used with other temporal conjunctions like dum and quando.

Tunc summa est in silvis fames, dum lupus lupum vorat.
Remember that "fames" (hunger) is a feminine noun: "summa est... fames"

Tunc tua res agitur, paries dum proximus ardet.
This is a great saying for climate change! Notice that "dum" does not have to come first in its clause.

Tunc olores cantabunt, quando graculi tacebunt.
Compare the saying above, "Tunc canent cygni, cum tacebunt graculi." (In the proverb above, the verb was cano, future tense canent, but here the verb is canto.)

Tunc iudices alios, eris quando innocens.
Compare the saying above: "Tunc alios culpa, cum tu fueris sine culpa." Notice that "quando" does not have to come first in its clause.

Quando timor maior, tunc deus est propior.
Compare the modern English saying, "There are no atheists in foxholes."

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Latin Proverbs: Dum

Hoping to inspire Hector Tapia to love Latin "dum" clauses, here is a list of proverbs that open with a "dum" clause. I'm not going to translate the Latin, but I have provided a bit of commentary to help with the meaning (I hope). If you have questions, comment at the blog or find me at Twitter @OnlineCrsLady. Or email me, laurakgibbs@gmail.com.

Dum canis os rodit, socium quem diligit odit.
The idea is that dogs might be friends, but that doesn't mean one will share the bone he finds with another.

image source

Dum fugans canis mingit, fugiens lepus evadit.
Pay attention to the different Latin verbs here: "fugans" means "making someone run away, chasing," while "fugiens" means "running away, being chased."

Dum feles dormit, saliunt mures.
Dum feles dormit, mus gaudet et exsilit antro.
Compare the English saying, "When the cat's away, the mice will play."

Dum stertit cattus, numquam sibi currit in os mus.
The mice may come out when the cat is sleeping, but they are not just going to run right into the cat's mouth! The cat is going to have to do some work in order to catch the mice.

Dum pastores odia exercent, lupus intrat ovile.
The idea is that the wolf takes advantage of the shepherds being distracted.

Dum abbas apponit tesseras, ludunt monachi.
The idea in this medieval proverb is that the abbot is responsible for what goes on in the monastery.

Dum vito fumum, flammam in ipsam decido.
Compare the English saying, "Out of the frying pan, into the fire."

Dum aetatis ver agitur, consule brumae.
The phrase "aetatis ver agitur" means while you are in the spring of your life, "aetatis ver," as opposed to the winter of your life that is still to come.

Dum ferrum candet, cudendum est.
Compare the English saying, "Strike while the iron is hot" (because if you bang on the iron while it's cold, you'll accomplish nothing).

Dum loquor, hora fugit.
Dum loquimur, tempus fugit.
These two sayings have the same meaning, but with different subjects (first person singular and plural), while "tempus" and "hora" are both ways to refer to "time" in Latin.

Dum spiro, spero.
Dum spiramus, speramus.
This is another pair of proverbs that mean the same thing, using first person singular or plural.

image source

Dum vita est, spes est.
Dum vivis, sperare decet.
Dum vivo, spero.
These three proverbs express in different ways the same meaning as the English saying, "Where there's life, there's hope."

Dum vivo, prosum.
The implied idea is that "prosum (aliis)," "I help (others)."

Dum potes, vive!
The idea with the imperative "vive" here is "live (life to the fullest)" while you are able.

Dum tempus habemus, operemur bonum ad omnes.
Note the subjunctive here: "operemur," and it's a deponent verb that takes the accusative, i.e. "let us do good."

Dum vivimus, discamus.
Note the subjunctive here, "discamus," "let us learn." Compare the English saying, "Live and learn."

Latin Via Proverbs... Redux!

So, at long last I've decided to go back to the first-ever book that I self-published (way back in 2006), Latin Via Proverbs, and start expanding and revising it, getting help from Hector Tapia, who is also a fan of the world of Latin proverbs.

You can get a PDF of the book at the Internet Archive, and there's a paperback at Lulu. 

When I finish the revised/expanded version, I'll publish it as a Pressbook with a paperback option at Amazon. That will take a while, though; I've got a lot of revising and expanding to do, and you can follow along here with the post label: Latin.