
Latin Proverbs [intellectual curiosity] - stijnm
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Latin_proverbs
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grellas
My favorite (not on this list): _Similis simili gaudet_ \- "like rejoices in
like."

Latin lends itself to pithy forms of expression because it is highly inflected
("turned in"), as opposed to analytical (or "loosened") languages like
English. The subject is normally built into the verb form rather than being
separately expressed ("amo" = "I love"; "amamus" = we love) and contingent
forms of expression are expressed in a slightly altered form (subjunctive
mood) of the same verb as well, all with economy of expression ("amemus" =
"let us love," "that we may love"). With nouns, prepositional phrases
signifying special uses in a sentence are also built into the noun form itself
("filius" = boy; "filiorum" = "of the boys"). Combine this with with a high
degree of freedom in word order ("amo te" or "te amo" each means "I love you,"
though with slightly different emphasis), and you have a strong medium for
expressing powerful thoughts easily and creatively.

A couple of illustrations of how this plays out, using a common legal
expression:

"Res ipsa loquitur" - "the thing speaks for itself" (literally, "thing itself
speaks")

"Res ipsa loquatur" - "may the thing speak for itself" or "let the thing speak
for itself"

"Res ipsae loquunt" (or "Loquunt res ipsae" - or "Ipsae loquunt res") -
"things speak for themselves"

It is a devil of a language to learn (e.g., every verb has about 120 different
forms) but lots of fun once you get there.

~~~
likpok
Although _most_ of the verb-forms follow relatively simple patterns. Except,
of course, for the irregular ones, which are totally off.

Then you get into the various constructions of verbs + other or nouns + other,
and it gets even more complicated

~~~
grellas
Very true - simple patterns woven into a complex system.

For anyone interested, there is a great online resource for inputting any
Latin word form and getting an instant output telling you its noun, verb, or
other form, along with its base form and its English definition:
<http://archives.nd.edu/words.html> (William Whittaker's Words program). You
can also input an English word and instantly get its Latin equivalents.

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stijnm
I enjoyed going through this list - so I thought you might too!

Here are a few to wet your taste buds:

\- a thought-provoking one: Deorum iniuriae Diis curae. ("Offences to the gods
are the concern of the gods." - Perhaps very apt in these times of religious
tension.)

\- a kind of meta-proverb: Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum videtur.
("Anything said in Latin sounds profound." )

\- a weird one: Temeas simium meum. ("Hold my monkey!" - Eh?)

There are plenty of others, go and discover.

~~~
yannis
Pecunia non olet ("money does not smell"). The phrase originally related to
the urine tax levied by the Roman emperors Nero and Vespasian in the 1st
century upon the collection of urine! Food for thought for the IRS!

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a-priori
_Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum videtur._

Translation: "Anything said in Latin sounds profound."

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stijnm
To be able to pack so much meaning into so few words is an excellent skill to
have.

I had another peruse of the list and this one jumped out at me: Bellum se
ipsum alet ("War will nourish on itself")

Recent world events have certainly shown this to be true.

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profquail
My favorite (since high school latin) has been, "Fortes fortuna iuvat"
(Fortune favors the brave).

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balding_n_tired
A shop in DC used to have magnets with such mottos, of which I remember only
"dura lex, sed lex"

