Sunday, April 24, 2011

Quantum Deo Debeatur

This poem is from a book published in 1624 by Jean Pignewart (Iohannes Pignevvart), a Cistercian monk and scholar. He attributes his collection of distich poetry to "Cato Bernardinus," invoking both the legendary "Cato" of Latin distich fame and also Saint Bernard of Clairveax who was famously associated with the Cistercian order.

Quantum Deo Debeatur
A te scire cupis quantum deus ipse reposcat?
Fac penses quantum contulit ille tibi.

The vocabulary is keyed to the DCC Latin Vocabulary list. There are only two words in this poem not on the DCC list:

pensō, pensāre: weigh, ponder
reposcō, reposcere: take back, demand

ā ab abs: from, by (+abl.)
cōnferō -ferre -tulī -lātum: collect, bring to
cupiō -ere -īvī -ītum: desire
dēbeō dēbēre dēbuī dēbitum: owe, be obliged
deus -ī m.; dea -ae f. god; goddess
faciō facere fēcī factum: do, make
ille illa illud: that
ipse ipsa ipsum: him- her- itself
quantus -a -um: (interr.) how great? (rel.) of what size, amount, etc.
sciō -īre -īvī/-iī -ītum: know
tū tuī tibi tē: you (sing.)