Latin Proverbs: volo (vis)

Carrying on with the forms of volo, today it's a simple one: vis, second-person singular, present active indicative. When you're reading, watch out for this form of volo and the noun vis, which has an identical spelling.

Si vis pacem, cole iustitiam.
Here the verb "vis" takes a direct object; you will see that the verb can take either an object or an infinitive complement, as in the following proverb.

Da, si vis accipere.
Here "vis" takes a complementary infinitive: "si vis accipere," "if you want to receive."

Si vis scire, doce.
As a teacher, I endorse this saying 100%. Teaching really is the best way to learn anything.

Si vis, potes.
Here "vis" does not take a noun or verb complement, although in English, you probably would need to supply a complement: si vis, "if you want (to do something), which would also go with the "potes," "you can (do that thing)."

Si non potes ut vis, utcumque potes facito.
This proverb applies if the previous proverb actually turns out not to be true! The verb "facito" is an imperative. 

 

Si vis regnare, divide.
Compare the English saying "divide and conquer."

Imperium habere vis magnum? Impera tibi.
This proverb plays very elegantly with the noun "imperium" and the related verb, "imperare."

Si vis amari, ama.
The point of this proverb depends on the contrast between the passive "amari" (passive infinitive) and the active "ama" (imperative).

Si portari vis, porta et alium.
This saying also depends on the contrast between a passive "portari" (passive infinitive) and active "porta" (imperative).

Benefac, si vis ut benefiat tibi.
This features a play on the active "benefac" (imperative) and the passive "benefiat" (subjunctive).

Quod vis videri, esto.
Qualis vis videri, talis esto.
The form "esto" is an imperative form of the verb "esse," to be. (Compare the imperative "facito" in the proverb above.)

Audi, cerne, tace, si vis tu vivere pace.
Audi, vide, tace, si vis vivere in pace.
These are two variations on the same theme, and it's a medieval rhyming proverb: tace-pace.

Ebibe vas totum, si vis cognoscere potum.
This is another rhyming proverb: totum-potum. Compare also this saying: Lege totum, si vis scire totum.

Mortis linque metus, si tu vis vivere laetus.
This rhyming proverb gives you a clue about the pronunciation of the diphthong "ae" in the Middle Ages: metus rhymes with laetus. Many manuscripts also spell the diphthong "e" just as it was pronounced.

Fac bene dum vivis, post mortem vivere si vis.
This is another rhyming proverb, with the final rhyme composed of two words: vivis - si vis.

Si vere tibi vis vivere, vive aliis.
This proverb has some elegant soundplay with the adverb "vere" and the verbs "vis vivere" and "vive."

Quod tibi vis fieri, hoc fac alteri.
Quod tibi non vis, alteri ne facias.
These two sayings are positive (vis) and negative (non vis) reflections of one another.

Si dices quae vis, audies quae non vis.
Cum dixeris quod vis, audies quod non vis.
These sayings express the same idea but with different syntax: a "si" clause in one and a "cum" clause in the other, along with the singular neuter "quod" versus the plural neuter "quae."

Vita malos, ni vis malus quoque fieri.
The adjective "malos" is being used substantively here: "bad (people)."

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Latin Proverbs: Forms of volo (vul)

Carrying on with the forms of volo, today it's a simple one: vult and vultis are the only forms with -u- as the vowel. 

Bos ad aquam tractus non vult potare coactus.
Notice the medieval rhyme: tractus-coactus. Compare the English saying, "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink."

Qui vult caedere canem, facile invenit fustem.
Compare the English saying: "It is easy to find a stick to beat a dog."

Cattus comedit pisces sed non vult humectare pedes.
Felis amat piscem, sed non vult tangere flumen.
This famous proverb is alluded to in Shakespeare's Macbeth: "like the poor cat in the adage."

Nemo feli tintinnabulum annectere vult.
This proverb prompted the Aesop's fable about the cat and the bell. Here's an illustration by Grandville:

Deus dat cui vult.
There's an implied ei: "Deus dat (ei), cui vult." And, of course, to whom he does not want to give, he does not.

Quod deus vult fiet.
There's an implied hoc: "(Hoc) quod deus vult, fiet." Note the future tense: fiet.

Quos deus perdere vult, dementat prius.
Quem Iuppiter vult perdere, dementat prius.
Stultum facit Fortuna, quem vult perdere.
These are all variations on the same idea, with either "deus" or "Iuppiter" or "Fortuna" as the divinity in charge. As you can see, "facere stultum" is synonymous with "dementare."

Qui totum vult, totum perdit.
Compare the English saying, "Grasp all, lose all."

Vult et non vult piger.
Compare the Aesop's fable about the lazy boy in bed. Here's a Latin LOLCat:

Beatus est qui vivit ut vult.
Remember that "ut" with the indicative means "as" (more about ut).

Qui vult nucleum, frangat nucem.
Note the subjunctive: frangat.

Deficit ambobus, qui vult servire duobus.
This is a rhyming medieval proverb: ambobus-duobus. Compare the Biblical saying in Matthew 6: "Nemo potest duobus dominis servire."

Haurit aquam cribro qui discere vult sine libro.
Another rhyming medieval proverb: cribro-libro.

Os qui non claudit, quod non vult, saepius audit.
And yet another rhyming proverb: claudit-audit.

Qui pedit dum vult, pedet dum pedere non vult.
Yes, "pedere" really does mean "to fart."

Discere si vultis, prodest sapientia multis.
Here you see the second-person plural form: vultis, rhyming with multis.

Quaecumque vultis ut faciant vobis homines, et vos facite illis.
This is another of those "golden rule" sayings, expressed in second-person plural form. Note the subjunctive, facianti, with the pronoun quaecumque.

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Latin Proverbs: Archimedes' Circles

I just went to see the latest/last Indiana Jones movie, and I really enjoyed it, way more than I even expected. Plus... it involved Archimedes. I don't want to give too much away, but suffice to say: the invasion of Syracuse is important to the plot of the movie. 

So, last week I had happened to post a famous quote attributed to Archimedes in the diminutive proverbs, so in honor of the Archimedes moment in the movie, I wanted to write a post about that one now: Noli turbare circulos meos! 

The most famous saying attributed to Archimedes is "Eureka!" (and that is also relevant to the movie), but this saying is quite famous also, and it has a Wikipedia article of its own. The story goes that when Syracuse was invaded by the Romans in 212 B.C.E., the Roman general sent soldiers to capture Archimedes, but when the soldiers found him, he shouted at them to not disturb his drawing in the sand, and an angry soldier then killed him.

The version in Valerius Maximus 8.7.7 goes: Noli, obsecro, istum disturbare, "Please do not disturb it" (where "it" refers to the sand where Archimedes was drawing something). Here's the Latin:

8.7.ext.7 Archimedis quoque fructuosam industriam fuisse dicerem, nisi eadem illi et dedisset uitam et abstulisset: captis enim Syracusis Marcellus, <etsi> machinationibus eius multum ac diu uictoriam suam inhibitam senserat, eximia tamen hominis prudentia delectatus ut capiti illius parceretur edixit, paene tantum gloriae in Archimede seruato quantum in oppressis Syracusis reponens. at is, dum animo et oculis in terra defixis formas describit, militi, qui praedandi gratia domum inruperat strictoque super caput gladio quisnam esset interrogabat, propter nimiam cupiditatem inuestigandi quod requirebat nomen suum indicare non potuit, sed protecto manibus puluere 'noli' inquit, 'obsecro, istum disturbare', ac perinde quasi neglegens imperii uictoris obtruncatus sanguine suo artis suae liniamenta confudit. quo accidit ut propter idem studium modo donaretur uita, modo spoliaretur.

It's intense: obtruncatus (slain), sanguine suo (with his blood) artis suae liniamenta (the lines of his work) confudit (he jumbled).

I'll just say that this is not the version of Archimedes' life as it plays out in the Indiana Jones movie! And if you are curious about the tomb of Archimedes, you can read more about that here: The Curious Case of the Tomb of Archimedes.

Here's a painting by Thomas DeGeorge:

Here's a sculpture in Berlin:

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Latin Proverbs: Forms of volo (vol)

This is the first post in a series on the forms of the verb volo, focusing on the different forms that the stem can take: vol-, vul-, vel-, etc.

So, here are the proverbs featuring vol- as the stem form:

Ferre minora volo, ne graviora feram.

The verb "ferre" here means to "bear," in the sense of putting up with, enduring. Compare the fox's words in the fable of the fox and the thornbush: Vulpis et Rubus.

Nolo parum, nimium non volo: sat mihi sat.

This is a proverb in praise of the "golden mean," i.e. having just enough, not too little and not too much.

Vivimus, non ut volumus, sed ut possumus.

This is a "you can't always get what you want" type of proverb.

Quod volumus, facile credimus.

There is an implied "hoc" here: Hoc, quod volumus, facile credimus.

Cito fit quod di volunt.

There is also an implied "hoc" here: Hoc cito fit, quod di volunt.

Quo volunt reges, vadunt leges.

The word "quo" here is an adverb, meaning "where" (i.e. in quo loco).

Quem fata pendere volunt, non mergitur undis.

There is an implied "is" here: Is, quem fata pendere volunt, non mergitur undis.

Multi scire volunt, sed vere discere nolunt.

Here you see volunt paired up with its contrary verb: nolunt, which is short for "non volunt."

Bene vixit is qui potuit cum voluit mori.

This proverb has a perfect form: voluit, and the verbs vixit and potuit are also in the perfect.

Magnus qui volet esse, solum natale relinquat.

Here you see the future tense: volet, along with a subjunctive: relinquat.

Volentem bovem ducito.

The verb "ducito" is an imperative (sometimes called the "future imperative") which is frequently found in proverbs.

Ducunt volentem fata, nolentem trahunt.

Here you see volo and nolo paired up again, this time in their participial forms: volentem / nolentem.

Irritare canem noli dormire volentem.

Compare the English saying, "Let sleeping dogs lie." Notice the use of "noli" (imperative form of nolo) to express a negative imperative.

And here's a version from back in my LOLCat days:

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Latin Proverbs: Proverbs with -ans

Hector and I have been talking about how participles that modify the subject of a verb are as good as a verb, and it's often better to render them in an English with an actual clause of their own, rather than using an equivalent English participle. There are some examples below, just with first conjugation first! I'll be back with more participles from other conjugations in later posts. :-)

For each one I've suggested a clause, either a relative clause, or an independent clause connected by et:

Sperans pergo.

This could be "spero et pergo." It's the Tomkinson family motto, as you can see in this lovely bookplate (from an edition of Northcote's fables, in fact):

Camelus desiderans cornua, etiam aures perdidit.

This could be "desideravit cornua et ... aures perdidit." This is from an Aesop's fable which you can read here: Camelus et Iupiter.

Corvus hians delusus est.

This could be "hiavit et... delusus est." This one alludes to the famous fable of the fox and the cheese.

Festinans ad duo diversa, neutrum bene peragit.

This could be "Qui festinat ... peragit." It's a proverb about multitasking! Compare this fable: Canis et Lepores Duo.

Canis lunam allatrans cursum eius non impedit.

This could be "Canis qui lunam allatrat." You can see this saying in one of the emblems of Alciato.

Feles vociferans nil venatur.

This could be "Qui vociferat.. venatur." Being quiet is obviously a better strategy for hunting than yowling!

Cineres evitans, in carbones incidi.

This could be "evitavit et....incidi." This proverb was part of the collection of cado-compounds.

Leonem vitans, ursi unguibus occurrit.

This could be "vitat et... occurrit." Compare this saying from the cado compounds, where it's from bear to lion: "Fugiens ursum, incidi in leonem."

Mors stans ante fores dicit tibi: corrige mores!

This could be "stat... et dicit." Notice the rhyming, which shows this is a medieval proverb: fores... mores.

Pipere abundans etiam oleribus immiscet.

This could be "Qui pipere abundat... immiscet." This saying reflects a time when pepper was a precious spice, not normally squandered on vegetables.

Pira desiderans, pirum, non ulmum, accedas.

This could be "Qui pira desiderat... accedas." Pirus is the pear tree (pirum, accusative singular), while pirum is the fruit (pira, accusative plural).

Novos parans amicos, ne obliviscere veterum.

This could be "Qui novos parat amicos... ne obliviscere." The word "obliviscere" is a second-person imperative from "obliviscor." Those imperatives of deponent verbs can be hard to recognize sometimes!

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Latin Proverbs: Diminutives with (c)ulus

In a fable by Desbillons that Hector and I were reading there were a couple of nice diminutive forms: vulpecula, from vulpis, and meliuscule, from melius. The -ul- diminiutive ending is very common in Latin, and many of the diminutives take the form -cul- which you can read about here: -culus. Below are some proverbs that use this suffix, starting with some animals!

Absente fele, musculi ducunt choros.

Compare the English saying, "when the cat's away, the mice will play." And yes, the English word "muscle" really does mean "little mouse," from the idea that it looks like a mouse running under your skin; eeek! 

Ruinis imminentibus, musculi praemigrant.

Compare the English saying, "rats deserting a sinking ship."

Movet cornicula risum furtivis nudata coloribus.

This saying refers to an Aesop's fable: the story of the bird who took the other birds' colored feathers for herself; cornicula here is a diminutive of cornix.

Pusillae aviculae pusillos nidulos construunt.

Here you see avicula, the diminutive of avis. The word for nest is also a diminutive: nidulus, from nidus. The adjective pusillus is also a diminutive from pusus, a word you do not ever see in Latin (pusillus has completely replaced it), but the words puer and puella come from this root.

Macilenti pediculi acrius mordent.

The word "pediculus" is a diminutive of "pedis," which means "louse." This word can be very sneaky because the plural, "pedes," also looks like the plural of "pes," meaning foot. The diminutive "pediculus" can mean "little louse" or "little foot," depending on context.

In alio pediculum vides, in te ricinum non vides.

The word "ricinus" means tick (which is bigger than a tiny louse); this saying is a play on the Biblical proverb in Matthew 7: quid autem vides festucam in oculo fratris tui et trabem in oculo tuo non vides?

Melius est pisciculos cepisse, quam desidia omnino torpere.

This saying features "pisciculus," a diminutive of "piscis." No matter how small the fish you catch, it's better than doing nothing!

Vulpecula denuo non capitur laqueo.

Here you see "vulpecula," the diminutive of "vulpes." The force of the proverb here is all on "denuo," which in a single word tells you the fox managed to get out the trap the first time she was caught, and she is not going to make the same mistake again.

Ex auricula asinum.

The word "auricula" is the diminutive of "auris." There is an implied verb here, something like "cognoscis," with "asinum" as the object of the verb. Compare a similar abbreviated saying about a lion: "ex ungue leonem." In the Aesop's fable about the donkey in the lion's skin, sometimes the donkey is recognized by his ears, sometimes by his braying. The use of "auricula" is sarcastic, of course; the donkey's ears are anything but diminutive!

Midas auriculas asini.

Auriculas asini Mida rex habet.

As you can see, the nominative can be Midas or Mida in Latin, and both of these sayings refer to the famous legend of King Midas and his barber.

Noli turbare circulos meos!

This famous phrase is attributed to Archimedes, and it even has its own Wikipedia article. The word "circulus" (as in English "circle") is a diminutive of "circus" (as in the English word "circus").

Mors sola fatetur quantula sint hominum corpuscula.

This wonderful "memento mori" saying has a diminutive both of the adjective, "quantula," and of the noun "corpuscula" (which gives us English "corpuscle").

Teneto te intra pelliculam.

Infra tuam pelliculam te contine.

These sayings both express the idea of not overextending yourself; "pellicula" is a diminutive of "pellis."

Est foculus proprius multo pretiosior auro.

The word "foculus" is a diminutive of "focus," the idea being that your hearth at home, no matter how small, is precious.

Mille viatorum fonticulus explet sitim.

Here the proverb plays on a paradox: a tiny "fonticulus" (diminutive of "fons") can nevertheless sustain many travelers over time.

Ex arena funiculum nectis.

The word "funiculus" is a diminutive of "funis," and it is the origin of the English word "funicular."

Rumpetur tensus funiculus.
Nimium tendendo rumpitur funiculus.

Note the future tense form: rumpetur. Both of these proverbs express the same idea about a rope needing to relax every once in a while, just like a person needs to relax! So, if you made it all the way through this list: take a break and relax. :-)

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Latin Proverbs: Avarus

Doing a fable about a miser last week, Avarus et Thesaurus, inspired me to pull together this collection of Latin proverbs about the word avarus. Like the fable, the sayings themselves refer to the paradoxical situation of the miser who has but thinks he does not have, who should be happy but is not, etc.

Avarus animus nullo satiatur lucro.

This is the essential nature of the miser: no amount of money is ever enough. 

Avarus semper eget.

Semper avarus eget; hunc nulla pecunia replet.

The second saying is a rhyming medieval proverb: eget-replet.

Avarum irritat, non satiat pecunia.

Avarum excitant, non satiant divitiae.

These proverbs also explore the paradoxical relationship of the miser to his money: normal people are satisfied by money, but not the miser.

Avarus ipse miseriae causa est suae.

In nullum avarus bonus est, in se pessimus.

These proverbs are about the miser's unhappiness: he has not one but himself to blame!

Avarus semper est pauper.

Omnes divites avari sunt pauperes.

This is the paradoxical outcome: because the miser considers himself in need of more, he is as needy as a poor man, even though rich.

Desunt egeno multa, avaro omnia.

This saying takes the paradox even farther: the miser is not just like a poor man, he is even poorer than the more man! The word "egenus" shares its root with the verb "eget" as in the sayings above, "Avarus semper eget."

Aestimat esse parum sibi quidquid habet cor avarum.

This is another rhyming medieval saying: parum-avarum.

Avarus aurum deum habet.

This proverb shifts the focus to the relationship between the miser and his money. The word "habet" here means "holds" in the sense of "considers, esteems," etc.

Avarus auri custos, non dominus.

Plus servant avari aurum quam se.

Non avaro divitiae, sed divitiis avarus servit.

All three of these sayings play with the idea that the miser is not the mater of his money; just the opposite in fact!

Bursa avari os est diaboli.

What a vivid metaphor! It appears in Thomas Nash's "Christ’s Tears Over Jerusalem" from 1593: Bursa Avari os est diaboli, The usurer’s purse is hell-mouth. He hath hydropem conscientiam (as Augustine saith), a dropsy conscience, that ever drinks and ever is dry. Like the fox, he useth his wit and his teeth together; he never smiles but he seizeth; he never talks but he takes advantage. 

Avarus nisi cum moritur, nil recte facit.

This saying reminds me of the scene in the musical version of Dickens' Christmas Carol when Scrooge witnesses the circumstances of his own death and funeral. In English literature, there is no better example of a miser than Scrooge! 

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