Ex granis acervus

In English: From grains, a heap.

I was so surprised to realize that I had never posted about this proverb here at the blog, since it has to be one of my "top ten" favorite Latin proverbs of all time, one that I constantly apply to my own life. In fact, blogging itself is a wonderful example of the "ex granis acervus" principle, since by posting just a little bit every day, you eventually end up with a big pile of writings, something that would have been intimidating if you set out to write that much, but which is so easy when you write it post by post by post.

Another thing I really like about this proverb is its abbreviated form, not even needing a verb. A fuller form of the proverb spells things out more clearly: de multis granis acervus erit, "from many grains, there will be a heap" or de minimis grandis fit magnus acervus, "from the smallest grains comes a big heap," where the contrast between the tiny grains and the big heap is made explicit. So, if you are worried that your audience might not understand the abbreviated form of the proverb, you can fill in the gaps for them - but personally, I prefer the elegant little ex granis acervus form of the saying.

There are other metaphors, too, which convey the same ideas the tiny grains and the big heap that results. For example, you can think about the many little drops of rain that make a rain shower: Minutae guttulae imbrem pariunt, "Tiny droplets generate the rainshower." That saying makes nice use of the possibilities of the diminutive in Latin, with droplets, guttulae, in place of the standard form guttae, drops. I like diminutives so much that I'd be tempted to go even farther: Minutulae guttulae imbrem pariunt - with not just "tiny" droplets, but "teeny-tiny" ones.

Meanwhile, hoping that your harvest is piled up in plentiful heaps, here is today's proverb read out loud:

97. Ex granis acervus

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The number here is the number for this proverb in Latin Via Proverbs: 4000 Proverbs, Mottoes and Sayings for Students of Latin.

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Crescentem sequitur cura pecuniam

In English: Worry follows growing wealth.

This is one of many Latin proverbs that warn about the cares and worries that come with wealth. In this case, the proverb features a very nice use of the Latin participle crescens, growing. As wealth grows, so do the worries that accompany it. The phrase itself comes from Horace, in his Ode 3.16, "Worry follows growing weath, as does a hunger for greater things"

Crescentem sequitur cura pecuniam
maiorumque fames.

The participle crescens has also given rise to the English word "crescent," although we tend to think of "crescent" as being a static shape, rather than something actively "increasing" (this word also comes from the same Latin root, in-creasing). The word "crescendo" also comes from this same root (via Italian); and with "crescendo," you definitely get a sense of actively increasing and swelling, which we not longer sense in the word "crescent."

The shape of the "crescent" is that of the moon, of course, which is constantly in motion and not static at all, as it waxes and grows larger, passing through the shape of the crescent until it is a full moon. Then, as it wanes and grows smaller, it passes through the crescent stage again, but this time it is de-creasing rather than in-creasing. We should probably call them the "increscent" moon and the "decrescent" moon just to acknowledge the dynamic difference! After all, you can tel just from looking at the crescent if the moon is increasing or decreasing. The horns of the waxing moon as it grows to full point to your left side, while those of the waning moon as it decreases point to your right - really! (Although it's just the opposite in the southern hemisphere, so if you are reading this in Australia, reverse those directions). If you don't believe me, take a walk outside for the next few nights and see what you can discover - or you can view this nifty animation at Wikipedia (larger view).

The moon is a good metaphor to keep in mind for the ups and downs of worldly wealth, too. Money comes, and money goes, just as the moon waxes and wanes. In fact, Horace's warning about "crescent" money and its worries could apply just as well to money when it is increasing as well as to money when it is decreasing. In many ways, it would be so much easier if money would just stay the same... but that's hardly the nature of the economy. It never stands still.

So, hoping that any money woes you are suffering might be those of increasing wealth rather than its opposite, here is today's proverb read out loud:

3692. Crescentem sequitur cura pecuniam

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The number here is the number for this proverb in Latin Via Proverbs: 4000 Proverbs, Mottoes and Sayings for Students of Latin.

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Mons parturibat, deinde murem prodidit

In English: The mountain was giving birth; it finally brought forth a mouse.

The proverb of "the mountain giving birth to a mouse" is well-attested in ancient Roman sources, being found in both Horace (parturiunt montes; nascetur ridiculus mus, in Ars Poetica) and in Phaedrus. The story is a simple one: the mountain rumbles and groans, as if it is going to give birth, and all that scurries out is a tiny little mouse. The metaphorical application is clear: the proverb fits those who make all kinds of furious and loud blustering declarations, and then end up not producing anything worthwhile at all.

Here is the version as told by Phaedrus (For parallel versions, see Perry 520).

Mons parturibat, gemitus immanes ciens,
eratque in terris maxima expectatio.
At ille murem peperit. Hoc scriptum est tibi,
qui, magna cum minaris, extricas nihil.

Here is the poem in a more prose-like word order for easy reading:

Mons parturibat,
ciens immanes gemitus,
et in terris erat maxima expectatio.
At ille mons
peperit murem.
Hoc scriptum est tibi,
qui
extricas nihil,
cum minaris magna.

For an English version, here is Christopher Smart's delightful rendering of Phaedrus:

The Mountain labor'd, groaning loud,
On which a num'rous gaping crowd
Of noodles came to see the sight,
When, lo ! a mouse was brought to light!
This tale 's for men of swagg'ring cast,
Whose threats, voluminous and vast,
With all their verse and all their prose,
Can make but little on 't, God knows.

So hoping you are not having to deal with any "men of swagg'ring cast" today - or any "noodles," for that matter! - here is today's proverb read out loud:

3332. Mons parturibat, deinde murem prodidit

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The number here is the number for this proverb in Latin Via Proverbs: 4000 Proverbs, Mottoes and Sayings for Students of Latin.

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Invidus a propria roditur invidia

In English: The envious man is gnawed by his own envy.

There are many sayings in Latin about how envious people are their own worst enemies, as in this saying, where the envious man is being "gnawed" (Latin roditur, as in the word "rodent," the creature who gnaws) by his own feelings of envy. The envious man is unhappy precisely because of the happiness that he sees the others around him enjoying, as in this Latin definition of envy: Invidia dolor animi est ex alienis commodis, "Envy is a sickness of the soul which comes from other people's rewards."

There is an Aesop's fable about the perversity of the envious man which tells what happened when the gods granted the wishes of both an envious man and a greedy man, how they used their wishes to their own destruction. Here is the story as told by Joseph Jacobs:

Two neighbours came before Jupiter and prayed him to grant their hearts' desire. Now the one was full of avarice, and the other eaten up with envy. So to punish them both, Jupiter granted that each might have whatever he wished for himself, but only on condition that his neighbour had twice as much. The Avaricious man prayed to have a room full of gold. No sooner said than done; but all his joy was turned to grief when he found that his neighbour had two rooms full of the precious metal. Then came the turn of the Envious man, who could not bear to think that his neighbour had any joy at all. So he prayed that he might have one of his own eyes put out, by which means his companion would become totally blind.

Although this is one of the fables that is included in Barlow's Aesop (you can see the wonderful illustration online), I decided not to include it in the book, since this is definitely a rather twisted and weird fable - very wise, but painful to imagine! The pairing of the Greedy Man and the Envious Man is quite appropriate, of course, since they are two sides of the same coin, and here - instead of winning a boon from the gods - they both suffer a fearful punishment!

So, hoping you are feeling generous today and untouched by envy, here are today's proverbs read out loud:

3022. Invidus a propria roditur invidia

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372. Invidia dolor animi est ex alienis commodis

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The number here is the number for this proverb in Latin Via Proverbs: 4000 Proverbs, Mottoes and Sayings for Students of Latin.

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Noli irritare leones

In English: Do not provoke the lions!

I'm back to working my way through the proverbs in the Aesop's Fables in Latin book, and the one for today is about the lion, who is one of the most prominently featured creature in the fables of Aesop. To see a list of fables with lions in them, you can look at the Lion in this Aesop index: there are a couple dozen lion fables!

The advice to not provoke the lions is very good advice in any language. In Latin, there are some similar proverbs about other creatures whom you should not provoke: Octipedem excitare noli, "Don't arouse the octopus" (after all, it has eight limbs to fight back with, and you have only four) and Noli irritare crabrones, "Don't provoke the hornets" (hornets are smaller than lions, of course, but anyone who has messed with a hornets' nest knows that this is good advice).

For a fable about a creature who annoyed a lion, the most famous example would have to the story of the mouse and the lion. It is a surprisingly sweet little fable: the mouse accidentally awakens the lion who gets angry and threatens to kill the mouse, but the mouse begs for mercy and promises to return the favor, which only makes the lion laugh - but much to the lion's surprise, he is trapped in a net later on and escapes only thanks to the mouse, who gnaws through the cords and sets him free (Perry 150). More typical of the Aesopic tradition, however, is this story about a frog who unfortunately attracts the lion's attention, as you can read here in this little iambic by Desbillons (Dictionary Help)

Valde loquacem cum Ranam audisset Leo,
Timuit, et aliquod esse magnum animal putans,
Retro se vertit: at mox e stagno videt
Ranam exeuntem, quam indignans calcat pede.

English: "When the Lion heard a Frog croaking loudly, he was afraid and, thinking it must be some big animal, he turned around and went the other way, but suddenly he sees the the frog coming out of the swamp, and crushes it under his foot, outraged!"

Frogs, of course, are notorious for their annoying loud noise - but this frog made a fatal mistake to attract the lion's attention, since she ended up being crushed underfoot! Ouch!

So here is today's proverb read out loud - the frogs better listen up!

2545. Noli irritare leones

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The number here is the number for this proverb in Latin Via Proverbs: 4000 Proverbs, Mottoes and Sayings for Students of Latin.

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Parentes patientia vince

In English: Overcome your parents with patience.

I think anybody who has had troubles with family members can appreciate the wisdom of this saying! I thought I would post this for all of us who are treading the waters of making plans for the upcoming Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, trying hard not to offend our parents or other family members, while also keeping our sanity intact.

The saying goes back to the collection of monostich proverbs attributed to Cato. You can also find it in the singular form with an adverb in place of the ablative noun, Parentem patienter vince, as well as in this form with a so-called "gerundive of necessity," i.e. Parentes patientia esse ferendos, "Parents are to be endured in patience."

Elsewhere, in a distich proverb, Cato lauds the power of patience as follows: Quem superare potes, interdum vince ferendo, / Maxima enim morum semper patientia virtus.’, "Sometimes the person whom you are able to overpower, you should conquer by endurance, for patience is always the greatest virtue of all the character traits."

In the monstichs, Cato also urges simply, Parentes ama, "Love your parents." Of course, for those of us who are not always up to the saintly task of loving others, being able to suffer other people in patience is a good second choice!

There is a lovely sundial with the parentes patientia vince motto in Puy St. Vincent which I found at this website, where the saying has been badly mistranslated as "patience of man will win." Definitely not a correct rendering of the Latin, but I am very grateful for the lovely photo, which you can see here and also here.

So, all is well as your family contemplates holiday plans, here is today's proverb read out loud:

2450. Parentes patientia vince.

The number here is the number for this proverb in Latin Via Proverbs: 4000 Proverbs, Mottoes and Sayings for Students of Latin.

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Maluisses cloacas Augeae purgare

In English: You would have preferred to clean the sewers of Augeas.

As you might have noticed, this blog has been on hiatus for a while - the Aesop book got me sidetracked over the summer, and then school started, which always gets me sidetracked! I decided to spring back into action with this proverb about the hero Hercules, since Hercules is always a favorite topic among my students and this semester, as in every semester, several students have chosen Hercules as their Myth-Folklore topic for the semester.

This saying (which you can find in the Apocolocyntosis of Seneca) refers to one of the mythical labors of Hercules which is less famous than his slaying of monsters like the Nemean Lion of the Lernean Hydra. For this particular task, Hercules was condemned to clean out the sewer drains of the stables of King Augeas, who was famous for his horses, and who also owned more cattle than anyone in Greece, along with thousand of sheep and goats and other livestock, and the story goes that the stables had not been cleaned out in thirty years. As you can imagine, his stables were a mess! Moreover, Hercules was given only one day in which to clean them out. This was clearly a dirty job, and its inclusion in the list of heroic labors shows that the motivation behind these labors was not to give Hercules an opportunity to show off his strength in facing deadly challenges, but rather to condemn him to doing the ugly work of a slave.

Instead of using brute force to accomplish the task, Hercules used his wits instead. He made a large hole in the wall at one end of the enormous stables, and another hole at the other end. Then, Hercules dug a trench and diverted the two rivers Alpheus and Peneus so that they flowed through the stables and cleaned them out!

You can read about this labor in the fables of Hyginus, where it is explain here in Fable 30: Augeae regis stercus bobile uno die purgavit, maiorem partem Iove adiutore; flumine ammisso totum stercus abluit, "He cleaned in one day the cow manure of King Augeas, largely with Zeus helping him; when he had let in the river, it washed away all the manure." Just how Zeus helped his son here is not stated explicitly by Hyginus: perhaps his father gave him the idea to use the rivers to do the work, rather than trying to rely on his own strength.

The proverb cited here cites a comparison: maluisses, "you would have preferred," which is part of an implied contrary-to-fact past conditional, "(if you had had a choice - but you did not), you would have preferred to clean the stables of Augeas." In other words, there is some task even worse than the cleaning out of the stinking stables of Augeas - a task so onerous that cleaning the stables of Augeas would have looked easy by comparison.

I think they were talking about what it will take for me to clean out the garage! Ha ha.

So, hoping you don't face such arduous household cleaning tasks, here is today's proverb read out loud:

3446. Maluisses cloacas Augeae purgare.

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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