Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Litis praeteritae...

Here is today's distich by Cato (so-called), with English translations by Duff and Chase, 2.15.

Litis praeteritae noli maledicta referre:
Post inimicitias iram meminisse malorum est.


Revive not memories of former strife;
'T is shame to bring old hatreds back to life.
(Chase)

The quarrel past, its bitter words ignore:
'Tis ill to hink of wrath, when strife is o'er.
(Duff)

The vocabulary is keyed to the DCC Latin Vocabulary list. There are three words which are not on the DCC list:

inimīcitia, f. - enmity, hostility
līs, lītis f. - lawsuit, quarrel
maledīco -ere, maledīxī, maledīctum - speak badly about, curse

īra, irae f.: wrath, anger
malus -a -um: evil
meminī meminisse: remember, recollect
nōlo nōlle, nōluī: be unwilling
post: after (adv. and prep. +acc.)
praetereo -īre -iī -itum: pass, pass over
refero -ferre -tulī -lātum: bring back; report
sum, esse, fuī: be, exist