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Latin Via Proverbs: Home - Previous - Next

 

Group 11: Latin

 

137. Periculum in mora.

138. Sera in fundo parsimonia.

139. Saevis tranquillus in undis.

140. Beati monoculi in terra caecorum.

141. Lupus in fabula.

142. Asinus in tegulis.

143. Asinus in cathedra.

144. Pro perca scorpium.

145. Pro patria, pro liberis, pro aris et focis.

146. Ex duris gloria.

147. Ex scintilla incendium.

148. Sub pallio sordido sapientia.

149. Gutta fortunae prae dolio sapientiae.

150. Non est triticum sine paleis.

151. Nullum magnum ingenium sine mixtura dementiae.

152. Lucrum cum iactura famae damnum est, non lucrum.

 

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Study Guide

 

137. There is danger in delay. (The Latin word mora shows up in the English word "moratorium," which is a legal term meaning a postponement or suspension.)

 

138. A budget is late at the bottom. (In other words: when you've hit bottom, have reached the bottom of your purse, etc. If you have already spent your money, it's too late to economize! The phrase made it into Erasmus's Adagia 2.2.64, and you can also find it cited by the Roman philosopher Seneca, who attributes the proverb to ancient Roman tradition: ut visum est maioribus nostris, "as was clear to our ancestors.")

 

139. He is tranquil amidst stormy seas. (Be careful with the word order here. The preposition phrase saevis ... in undis is a prepositional phrase which wraps around the whole sentence.)

 

140. Blessed are the one-eyed in the land of the blind. (Some of you may already know the wonderful short story by H.G. Wells, "The Country of the Blind." There's a version available online, and if you have not read it, I recommend it. Great story.)

 

141. Wolf in the story. (You can read a brief essay about this proverb at the AudioLatinProverbs.com blog.)

 

142. The donkey on the rooftiles. (This is something like a bull in a china shop. There is no reason for a donkey to be up on the roof, and there's nothing good that can come of it!)

 

143. Donkey on the throne. (In other words: instead of the king or the pope or the professor who is supposed to be sitting in the throne or the chair of honor, there's a donkey there instead!)

 

144. Instead of a perch, a scorpion. (In other words, somebody is expecting something very good, and instead he gets something very bad instead! This saying made its way into Erasmus's Adagia, 2.6.6. Compare the saying of Jesus in Luke 11:12, "or if he shall ask an egg, will he reach him a scorpion?", ut si petierit ovum numquid porriget illi scorpionem.)

 

145. On behalf of our fatherland, our children, for our altars and hearths. (This phrase shows up in a speech of Cato reported in Sallust's Bellum Catilinae. The Latin word focus literally means "hearth, fireplace," but because the hearth and the fire were so central to family life, it also stands symbolically for the Roman family and home. This is also precisely where the English word "focus" comes from, as the hearth was the "focus" of the Roman home.)

 

146. From struggles, glory. (You can read a brief essay about this proverb at the AudioLatinProverbs.com blog.)

 

147. From a spark, a fire. (You can see the Latin word scintilla, "spark," in the English word "scintillating," which means "sparkling.")

 

148. There is wisdom beneath a sordid cloak. (You can read a brief essay about this proverb at the AudioLatinProverbs.com blog.)

 

149. A drop of fortune is superior to a barrel of wisdom. (You can read a brief essay about this proverb at the AudioLatinProverbs.com blog.)

 

150. There is no wheat without chaff. (Compare a similar Biblical saying in Jeremiah: "what hath the chaff to do with the wheat," quid paleis ad triticum.)

 

151. There is no great talent without an admixture of madness. (You can read a brief essay about this proverb at the AudioLatinProverbs.com blog.)

 

152. Profit with at the cost of your reputation is a loss, not a profit. (You can read a brief essay about this proverb at the AudioLatinProverbs.com blog.)