Sunday, December 4, 2011

In Quendam Grammaticastrum

Here is today's distich by John Owen, with an English translation by Thomas Harvey, 4.196. As you can tell, Owen is writing about the worst possible grammarian, bonus though he may be.

In Quendam Grammaticastrum
Grammaticus bonus, nil praeter grammata nosti.
Scis praeter literas nihil, literatus homo es.


OF A CERTAIN GRAMMATICASTER
Thou Letters knowst, a good Grammarian:
And nothing knowst but them; A learned man.

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

gramma, f. - line of writing, stroke of the pen
grammaticus -a -um - grammatical; grammarian
litterātus -a -um - learned, educated

bonus -a -um: good
homo hominis m.: human being
līttera -ae f.: letter, (pl.) literature
nihil, nīl: nothing; not at all
nihil, nīl: nothing; not at all
nōsco nōscere nōvī nōtum: learn, know
praeter: by, along, past; besides, except (+ acc.)
scio -īre -īvī/-iī -ītum: know
sum, esse, fuī: be, exist