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Rhyme

 

Latin is rich in rhyme, especially because of the abundance of "grammatical rhyme" created by polysyllabic word endings, and also the rhymes created by the standard patterns of word formation in Latin, especially the use of polysyllabic suffixes.

 

While rhyme was not a highly prized feature of classical Latin poetry (where, instead, it was shunned), in the Middle Ages, there are many rhymed verse forms. Not surprisingly, the popularity of rhyming Latin verse in the Middle Ages also contributed to the popularity of rhyming proverbs, too.

 

Samples

 

Sometimes it is enough just to put two rhyming words together to make a proverb:

Ita vita.

Rarum carum.

Nocumentum documentum.

Laudator adulator.

Scientia potentia.

Astra castra, numen lumen.

 

Sometimes rhyme is used to create a couplet, often with some other kind of repetition:

Bonum nomen, bonum omen.

 

Novus rex, nova lex.

Qualis grex, talis rex.

Vel arte vel Marte.

Sicut vita, finis ita.

Qualis vita, finis ita.

Modicus cibi medicus sibi.

 

It is also possible to have a couplet with the rhyming words at the beginning, not the end:

Mel in ore, fel in corde.

 

In other cases, the couplet is not perfectly balanced, but still features final rhyme:

Plures pastores ~ sunt uno deteriores.

Melior est res ~ quam spes.

Praestat cautela ~ quam medela.

Pelle sub agnina ~ latitat mens saepe lupina.

Scopae recentiores ~ semper meliores.

Aqua et panis ~ est vita canis.

Omne bonum ~ dei donum.

Est avis in dextra ~ melior quam quattuor extra.

Furtivus potus ~ plenus dulcedine totus.

 

Sometimes the rhyming words wrap around the entire phrase:

Amatores amant flores.

Honores mutant mores.

 

Sometimes the rhyming words come at the beginning:

Canes panes somniant.

 

Sometimes the rhyming words come in the middle:

Amor et melle et felle est fecundissimus.

 

Sometimes the rhyming words come at the end:

 

Omne rarum carum.

Omnia rara cara.

Quae rara cara.

Pisces vorant maiores minores.

Dum spiramus, speramus.

 

Composition Tips

 

It is good to be aware of rhyming words in your active Latin vocabulary! If you have a set of vocabulary flashcards which you use, or word lists which you have memorized, you can scan those lists, looking for rhyming pairs, and commit those to memory. You can also make rhyming word lists based on the rhymes you find in proverbs or in rhyming Latin poetry.

 

More Samples

 

Divitiae mutant mores, raro in meliores.

Se excusat, se accusat.

Habet deus suas horas et moras.

Falsus ore caret honore. 

Pauper ubique iacet, dum sua bursa tacet.

Quod licet Iovi, non licet bovi.

Quae nocent, docent.

Non habet anguillam, per caudam qui tenet illam.

Non laudo florem qui nullum praebet odorem.

Homo proponit sed deus disponit.

Doctrinae cultus nemo spernit nisi stultus.

Perdimus anguillam dum manibus stringimus illam.

Spes alit et fallit.

Quod nova testa capit, inveterata sapit.

Qui pingit florem, non pingit floris odorem.

Qui diligit ranam, ranam putat esse Dianam.

 

 

 

 

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Laura Gibbs, LatinViaProverbs.com