This is from the enormous anthology of distich poetry assembled by Barthold Nihus, Epigrammata Disticha, published in 1642; the poem is by Ioannes Sturmius (1507-1589).
Fortuna Volubilis
Rebus in humanis Fortuna volubilis errat;
Quod viget, id nil fit; quod nihil ante, viget.
The vocabulary is keyed to the DCC Latin Vocabulary list. There are two words in this poem that are not on the DCC list:
vigeo, vigēre: be lively, thrive, flourish
volūbilis, -e (volubilis): winding, twisting, rolling
ante: before, in front of (adv. and prep. + acc.)
errō -āre: go astray, wander
fīō fierī factus sum: become
fortūna -ae f.: fortune
hūmānus -a -um: human
in: in, on (+ abl.); into, onto (+ acc)
is ea id: he, she, it
nihil, nīl: nothing; not at all
nihil, nīl: nothing; not at all
qui quae quod: who, which, what / quis quid: who? what? which?
rēs reī f.: thing (rēs pūblica, commonwealth; rēs familiāris, family property, estate; rēs mīlitāris, art of war; rēs novae, revolution)
