I thought this would be a good follow-up to yesterday's proverb: Tangor, non frangor, ab undis, "I am touched but not broken by the waves." That saying depended on two different passive verbs, tangor-frangor, while today's proverb depends on a play between the active duco and passive ducor.
As it happens, this saying is the motto of Sao Paulo, Brazil! You can see the Sao Paulo coat of arms at wikipedia, with the Latin saying clearly displayed. As often, the various visual elements of the coat of arms are also symbolic: the use of the color red symbolizes the blood poured out in defense of the city, while the arm wielding an axe shows the willingness of its citizens to fight in the city's defense. The cross on the banner flying from the axe is the cross of the Order of Christ, a Portuguese symbol, recalling the founding of the city by the Portuguese. Finally, there are coffee tree branches! That is because of the great importance of coffee for the city's economic well-being. You can see even see the little coffee berries on the branches if you look closely!
Probably the biggest problem in translating this saying into English is the nightmare spelling of the English verb: "I lead" (present active tense) versus "I am led" (passive). Since there is a perfectly respectable English word "lead," which is pronounced "led" - the metal used by plumbers, "lead" - it is extremely common for people to also spell the past tense and the passive forms of "lead" with the word "lead."
When people complain about how hard Latin is, they need to remember the years... literally: YEARS ... that they spent learning how to spell English words. Or, perhaps, the years they did not spend in learning to spell!
So, with no worries about English spelling, here is today's Latin proverb read out loud:
3030. Non ducor, duco.
The number here is the number for this proverb in
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