8 8 (Mostly) Friendly Epigrams
In this chapter you’ll find 8 (Mostly) Friendly Epigrams
1. Andreas Gartner, Proverbialia Dicteria (1578)
Nēmō sibi satis est; eget omnis amīcus amīcō:
Sī nōn vīs aliīs parcere, parce tibi.
Several of the words in this epigram by Andreas Gartner take special cases (see the vocabulary below); vīs is a form of the verb, volō velle, not the noun, vīs vīs f., as the infinitive (parcere) makes clear.
satis or sat: enough, sufficient (+dat.) egeō egēre eguī: to want, need (+ abl.)
parcō parcere pepercī parsus: to spare (+ dat.)
2. John Owen, Epigrammata 4.47
Cūr similis similem sibi quaerit, amīcus amīcum?
Ūnō nēmō potest in pede stāre diū.
Line 1 of this poem by John Owen (c. 1564-c.1 628) contains two parallel clauses; understand the verb (quaerit) in both; Ūnō…pede: it is typical of in Latin poetry to separate adjectives from the nouns they modify (and for the adjectives to appear first).
cūr: why similis simile: similar (+dat.) pēs pedis m.: foot
stō stāre stetī statum: to stand
3. Michaelis Verinus, Disticha
Inveniēs multōs, sī rēs tibi flōret, amīcōs;
Sī fueris pauper, quis tibi amīcus erit?
In this epigram by Michaelis Verinus (c. 1469-c. 1487), what does the ending of inveniēs indicate about the tense of the third conjugation verb? multōs…amīcōs: see comment on adjectives and nouns in 2; tibi in line 1 is a dative of reference—also known as the dative of (dis)advantage (AG 376); in line 2 it is a dative with a special adjective (amīcus).
flōreō flōrēre flōruī: to bloom pauper pauperis: poor, destitute
4. Godfrey of Winchester (c. 1050-1107), Epigrammata 55.
Omnis amīcus amat, sed nōn quī amat omnis amīcus;
Sī quem, Basse, tū amās, ēsto et amīcus eī.
nōn…omnis amīcus: as often, Godfrey of Winchester elides a form of sum esse = nōn…omnis [est] amīcus; ēsto: the third person future imperative of sum esse; eī: dative with the special adjective (amīcus).
Bassus Bassī m.: Bassus (name) quis quid after sī, nisī, num, or ne: any / someone/thing
5. Ludwig Holberg (1684 – 1754), Epigrammata 3.142
Omnia nōn facienda tibi, quae poscit amīcus;
Coniūrātiō erit, nūlla at amīcitia.
This epigram is by Ludwig Holberg, perhaps the greatest writer of Latin comedies after antiquity and the author of the best selling Latin novel of all time (an inspiration for Tolkein and others); at: the strong adversative (“but” is postponed bur the start of the clause (at nūlla amīcitia)
poscō –ere poposcī: to require, demand coniūrātiō –ōnis f.: conspiracy, plot
6. Martial (40 – c. 104), Epigrammata 1.32.
Nōn amō tē, Sabidī, nec possum dīcere quārē;
Hoc tantum possum dīcere: nōn amō tē.
This epigram is by Marcus Valerius Martialis (Martial); Sabidī: vocative; Hoc: accusative object of dīcere.
quārē: why; therefore Sabidius Sabidiī m.: Sabidus (name)
7. Philosophia Patrum (ed. Wegeler) 1011.
Quī dare vult aliīs, nōn dēbet dīcere: “Vultis?”
Sed dīcat plēnē: “Dulcis amīce, tenē!”
dīcat: jussive or hortatory subjunctive, “let him say…”; Dulcis amīce: although dulcis could be nominative, genitive, or vocative singular (even accusative plural, although the meter here excludes this possibility) but amīce reveals the case of phrase definitively.
plēnus –a –um: full dulcis dulce: sweet
