Saturday, July 30, 2011

Tuum Quod Emis

Here is a distich by Martial, 2.20:

Tuum Quod Emis
Carmina Paulus emit; recitat sua carmina Paulus,
Nam quod emas possis iure vocare tuum.

Bought verses for his own Paul doth recite,
For what you buy you may call yours by right.
- Wright

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

emo, emere: buy
recitō, recitāre: read out, recite

carmen -inis n.: song
iūs iūris n.: right, justice, law
nam or namque: for, indeed, really
paulō paulum: to only a small extent, slightly, a little
possum posse potuī: be able
qui quae quod: who, which, what / quis quid: who? what? which?
suus -a -um: his own, her own, its own
tuus -a -um: your
vocō -āre: call