In English: When the cat is snoring, a mouse never runs into its mouth.
Since I just finished today the huge and seemingly endless task of getting my Vulgate Verses book published (Vulgate Verses: 4000 Sayings from the Bible for Teachers and Students of Latin), I thought I would post this proverb in honor of hard work! If you are going to snooze all day as cats are wont to do, you cannot expect for mice to just show up and run into your mouth at dinner-time.
Now, I am someone who is admittedly inclined to snooze, not being very good at getting up in the morning! But somehow I've managed to get this book done, so I feel like a very happy cat who has managed to catch one very big mouse indeed, thanks to much sleepless prowling around.
There are some other nice Latin proverbs which express the same basic idea, that you cannot snooze your life away and expect everything to just take care of itself. For example, here is another one with an animal motif: Raro lupi lenti praebentur fercula denti, "Rarely do meals offer themselves to the wolf's lazy tooth." (Some very nice metonymy there, where it is the wolf's tooth that is expected to get to work in order to find some food!)
Similarly, about a fox: Dormienti vulpi cadit intra os nihil, "When the fox is sleeping, nothing falls into her mouth."
There are also a couple of fine sayings about how roast pigeons don't just fly into people's mouths: Non volat in buccas assa columba tuas, "A roast pigeon doesn't just fly into your cheeks," and Nulli per ventos assa columba volat, "The roast pigeon doesn't fly through the air for anybody."
Now if I can just sell a few more books, I can buy myself some roast pigeon... or, even better, a bottle of wine!
If you are interested in reading up on the Vulgate Verses project, I'll be blogging about that at a different address: BibliaVulgata.com. Hopefully now that the book is out, I'll be able to get on a more regular schedule posting here at Audio Latin Proverbs, too! :-)
So, whether or not you have snoozed the day away like the sleepy cat, here is today's proverb read out loud:
1996. Dum stertit cattus, numquam sibi currit in os mus.
The number here is the number for this proverb in Latin Via Proverbs: 4000 Proverbs, Mottoes and Sayings for Students of Latin.
If you are reading this via RSS: The Flash audio content is not syndicated via RSS; please visit the Latin Audio Proverbs blog to listen to the audio.
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November 30, 2007
November 24, 2007
Post triduum hospitis satietas est
In English: Three days is enough of a guest.
Yes, this is a proverb for all of you out there (me inclusa), who had guests in your house over the holidays. Literally the Latin saying reads, "After three days (post triduum) that is enough (satietas est) of a guest (hospitis).
A fuller form of the saying is Post triduum mulieris, hospitis et pluviarum satietas est, "After three days of a woman, of a guest, and of rain, that's enough."
If you are seeking an even more forceful proverb to express your "guest distress," there is also this fine saying: post tres dies, piscis vilescit, et hospes, "After three days, a fish goes bad, as does a guest." This one is immortalized in English in the 1736 edition of Ben Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanack: "Fish & Visitors stink in 3 days."
There is also a delightful rhyming English proverb which explores the days one by one: "The first day the man is a guest, the second a burden, the third a pest."
We do not have a good English word equivalent to a 3-day period, but the term triduum was a commonly used Latin word. It achieves a special sacred status in the Vulgate Bible, of course. Jesus, for example, was accused of claiming that he could destroy the temple and raise it up again in three days (Possum destruere templum Dei, et post triduum reaedificare illud), which could be allegorically interpreted in terms of the death and resurrection. Similarly, it was after three days, a triduum, that Mary and Joseph found the lost child Jesus preaching in the temple (post triduum invenerunt illum in templo sedentem in medio doctorum), another symbolic foreshadowing of his later disappearance and return.
Of course, there is nothing especially sacred about the three-day limits for guests, just a matter of practical experience. And I am speaking, ahem, as an expert! :-)
So, hoping you had happy holidays with guests only in moderation, here is today's proverb read out loud:
415. Post triduum hospitis satietas est.
1953. Post tres dies piscis vilescit et hospes.
The number here is the number for this proverb in Latin Via Proverbs: 4000 Proverbs, Mottoes and Sayings for Students of Latin.
If you are reading this via RSS: The Flash audio content is not syndicated via RSS; please visit the Latin Audio Proverbs blog to listen to the audio.
Keep up with the latest posts... Subscribe by Email. I also post a daily round-up of all the Bestiaria Latina blogs: fables, proverbs, crosswords, and audio.
Yes, this is a proverb for all of you out there (me inclusa), who had guests in your house over the holidays. Literally the Latin saying reads, "After three days (post triduum) that is enough (satietas est) of a guest (hospitis).
A fuller form of the saying is Post triduum mulieris, hospitis et pluviarum satietas est, "After three days of a woman, of a guest, and of rain, that's enough."
If you are seeking an even more forceful proverb to express your "guest distress," there is also this fine saying: post tres dies, piscis vilescit, et hospes, "After three days, a fish goes bad, as does a guest." This one is immortalized in English in the 1736 edition of Ben Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanack: "Fish & Visitors stink in 3 days."
There is also a delightful rhyming English proverb which explores the days one by one: "The first day the man is a guest, the second a burden, the third a pest."
We do not have a good English word equivalent to a 3-day period, but the term triduum was a commonly used Latin word. It achieves a special sacred status in the Vulgate Bible, of course. Jesus, for example, was accused of claiming that he could destroy the temple and raise it up again in three days (Possum destruere templum Dei, et post triduum reaedificare illud), which could be allegorically interpreted in terms of the death and resurrection. Similarly, it was after three days, a triduum, that Mary and Joseph found the lost child Jesus preaching in the temple (post triduum invenerunt illum in templo sedentem in medio doctorum), another symbolic foreshadowing of his later disappearance and return.
Of course, there is nothing especially sacred about the three-day limits for guests, just a matter of practical experience. And I am speaking, ahem, as an expert! :-)
So, hoping you had happy holidays with guests only in moderation, here is today's proverb read out loud:
415. Post triduum hospitis satietas est.
1953. Post tres dies piscis vilescit et hospes.
The number here is the number for this proverb in Latin Via Proverbs: 4000 Proverbs, Mottoes and Sayings for Students of Latin.
If you are reading this via RSS: The Flash audio content is not syndicated via RSS; please visit the Latin Audio Proverbs blog to listen to the audio.
Keep up with the latest posts... Subscribe by Email. I also post a daily round-up of all the Bestiaria Latina blogs: fables, proverbs, crosswords, and audio.
November 15, 2007
Gratia gratiam parit
In English: One favor gives birth to another.
In honor of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, I thought I would do some Latin "thanks" proverbs based on the fascinating Latin word gratia, which can mean, among other things, "thanks" - as you can still recognize in the Spanish "gracias." This particular saying, gratia gratiam parit can be found in Erasmus's Adagia.
The Latin word gratia actually has a whole wide range of meaning, which is quite difficult to capture in a single English word. This is because Latin gratia is one of those notorious two-way words, which works to define both the relationship you have to others, and also the relationship they have to you. (Another such notorious word in Latin hospes, which means both "guest" and "host.")
You can see this split in the two main headings for the definition of gratia in Lewis and Short. On the one hand, gratia is something that someone shows to you, not so much "thanks" but rather their "favor" to you, the "grace" they bestow upon you: I. A. Favor which one finds with others, esteem, regard, liking, love, friendship (syn. favor) B. Transf., objectively, like the Gr. xa/ris, agreeableness, pleasantness, charm, beauty, loveliness, grace.
Alternatively, Latin gratia can be the "favor" you do for someone else, the "thanks" that you give to them, a sign of your "gratitude," etc.: II. A. Favor which one shows to another, mark of favor, kindness, courtesy, service, obligation. B. In partic., a mark of favor shown for a service rendered, thanks (by word or deed), thankfulness, gratitude; acknowledgment, return, requital.
This reciprocal relationship embodied in the word gratia helps to expose the deep logic of today's proverb - and also the impossibility of translating it into English! When you say in Latin gratia gratiam parit, you are expressing that reciprocal relationship: a person's gracious favor engenders grateful thanks on your part; and your act of thanksgiving to that person, in turn, engenders their gratitude, and so on.
Isn't it lovely? English has derived many word from Latin gratia, such as "grace," "gracious," "grateful," "gratitude," and even "gratuitous" and "ingrate" - but all those separate words do not manage to convey the reciprocality inherent in the definition of Latin gratia itself.
This post is dedicated to Nancy Diven: she will know why immediately! :-)
Meanwhile, hoping you are expecting a happy Thanksgiving holiday, here is today's proverb read out loud:
1566. Gratia gratiam parit.
The number here is the number for this proverb in Latin Via Proverbs: 4000 Proverbs, Mottoes and Sayings for Students of Latin.
If you are reading this via RSS: The Flash audio content is not syndicated via RSS; please visit the Latin Audio Proverbs blog to listen to the audio.
Keep up with the latest posts... Subscribe by Email. I also post a daily round-up of all the Bestiaria Latina blogs: fables, proverbs, crosswords, and audio.
In honor of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, I thought I would do some Latin "thanks" proverbs based on the fascinating Latin word gratia, which can mean, among other things, "thanks" - as you can still recognize in the Spanish "gracias." This particular saying, gratia gratiam parit can be found in Erasmus's Adagia.
The Latin word gratia actually has a whole wide range of meaning, which is quite difficult to capture in a single English word. This is because Latin gratia is one of those notorious two-way words, which works to define both the relationship you have to others, and also the relationship they have to you. (Another such notorious word in Latin hospes, which means both "guest" and "host.")
You can see this split in the two main headings for the definition of gratia in Lewis and Short. On the one hand, gratia is something that someone shows to you, not so much "thanks" but rather their "favor" to you, the "grace" they bestow upon you: I. A. Favor which one finds with others, esteem, regard, liking, love, friendship (syn. favor) B. Transf., objectively, like the Gr. xa/ris, agreeableness, pleasantness, charm, beauty, loveliness, grace.
Alternatively, Latin gratia can be the "favor" you do for someone else, the "thanks" that you give to them, a sign of your "gratitude," etc.: II. A. Favor which one shows to another, mark of favor, kindness, courtesy, service, obligation. B. In partic., a mark of favor shown for a service rendered, thanks (by word or deed), thankfulness, gratitude; acknowledgment, return, requital.
This reciprocal relationship embodied in the word gratia helps to expose the deep logic of today's proverb - and also the impossibility of translating it into English! When you say in Latin gratia gratiam parit, you are expressing that reciprocal relationship: a person's gracious favor engenders grateful thanks on your part; and your act of thanksgiving to that person, in turn, engenders their gratitude, and so on.
Isn't it lovely? English has derived many word from Latin gratia, such as "grace," "gracious," "grateful," "gratitude," and even "gratuitous" and "ingrate" - but all those separate words do not manage to convey the reciprocality inherent in the definition of Latin gratia itself.
This post is dedicated to Nancy Diven: she will know why immediately! :-)
Meanwhile, hoping you are expecting a happy Thanksgiving holiday, here is today's proverb read out loud:
1566. Gratia gratiam parit.
The number here is the number for this proverb in Latin Via Proverbs: 4000 Proverbs, Mottoes and Sayings for Students of Latin.
If you are reading this via RSS: The Flash audio content is not syndicated via RSS; please visit the Latin Audio Proverbs blog to listen to the audio.
Keep up with the latest posts... Subscribe by Email. I also post a daily round-up of all the Bestiaria Latina blogs: fables, proverbs, crosswords, and audio.
November 05, 2007
Palma non sine pulvere
In English: No palm without dust.
I thought I would choose this proverb today in honor of the fact that I am feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the work I have to do, but this proverb promises me at least the possibility of some kind of reward: in exchange for the dust (stirred up by all this hard work), I might hope to achieve the palm of victory!
This is a saying that has inspired many scholars and students over the ages. For example, you can find this saying as the motto of the Friends School of Baltimore, a Quaker school established all the way back in 1784. The best English equivalent I can think of is "no pain, no gain!"
The Latin saying is derived from Horace's first epistle, which asks the rhetorical question of whether the prize of the palm of victory without any effort would be worth having (sit condicio dulcis sine pulvere palmae?), the answer being that it would not be worth having at all!
Horace's use of the image thus shows that the proverb actually cuts both ways: you can read it to mean that you cannot hope to get the palm of victory without making some kind of effort and, conversely, that if you were somehow to get the palm of victory without having made any real effort, it would be a meaningless, hollow victory.
The Latin word pulvis, meaning "dust," is especially associated with athletic effort and competition, whereas in English it unfortunately suggests the endless effort of dusting around the house! In the same way that "sand," Latin harena or arena, could stand by metonymy for athletic competition (hence our English word "arena"), the dust, too, conjured up images of sporting events and athletic displays. Something that was "dusty," pulverulentus, was not something necessarily old, dirty and neglected (as in the connotations of the English word); rather, something covered with dust in Latin was something that represented effort and toil, as when Ovid writes about military honors which are covered in dust, praemia militiae pulverulenta.
At the moment, then, the two book manuscripts I am working on are definitely "dusty" - not because I am neglecting them, but because I am working so hard at them, striving for the palm of victory!
So, hoping you too are surviving the dust on your road to victory, here is today's proverb read out loud:
355. Palma non sine pulvere.
The number here is the number for this proverb in Latin Via Proverbs: 4000 Proverbs, Mottoes and Sayings for Students of Latin.
If you are reading this via RSS: The Flash audio content is not syndicated via RSS; please visit the Latin Audio Proverbs blog to listen to the audio.
Keep up with the latest posts... Subscribe by Email. I also post a daily round-up of all the Bestiaria Latina blogs: fables, proverbs, crosswords, and audio.
I thought I would choose this proverb today in honor of the fact that I am feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the work I have to do, but this proverb promises me at least the possibility of some kind of reward: in exchange for the dust (stirred up by all this hard work), I might hope to achieve the palm of victory!
This is a saying that has inspired many scholars and students over the ages. For example, you can find this saying as the motto of the Friends School of Baltimore, a Quaker school established all the way back in 1784. The best English equivalent I can think of is "no pain, no gain!"
The Latin saying is derived from Horace's first epistle, which asks the rhetorical question of whether the prize of the palm of victory without any effort would be worth having (sit condicio dulcis sine pulvere palmae?), the answer being that it would not be worth having at all!
Horace's use of the image thus shows that the proverb actually cuts both ways: you can read it to mean that you cannot hope to get the palm of victory without making some kind of effort and, conversely, that if you were somehow to get the palm of victory without having made any real effort, it would be a meaningless, hollow victory.
The Latin word pulvis, meaning "dust," is especially associated with athletic effort and competition, whereas in English it unfortunately suggests the endless effort of dusting around the house! In the same way that "sand," Latin harena or arena, could stand by metonymy for athletic competition (hence our English word "arena"), the dust, too, conjured up images of sporting events and athletic displays. Something that was "dusty," pulverulentus, was not something necessarily old, dirty and neglected (as in the connotations of the English word); rather, something covered with dust in Latin was something that represented effort and toil, as when Ovid writes about military honors which are covered in dust, praemia militiae pulverulenta.
At the moment, then, the two book manuscripts I am working on are definitely "dusty" - not because I am neglecting them, but because I am working so hard at them, striving for the palm of victory!
So, hoping you too are surviving the dust on your road to victory, here is today's proverb read out loud:
355. Palma non sine pulvere.
The number here is the number for this proverb in Latin Via Proverbs: 4000 Proverbs, Mottoes and Sayings for Students of Latin.
If you are reading this via RSS: The Flash audio content is not syndicated via RSS; please visit the Latin Audio Proverbs blog to listen to the audio.
Keep up with the latest posts... Subscribe by Email. I also post a daily round-up of all the Bestiaria Latina blogs: fables, proverbs, crosswords, and audio.
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