Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Nec te conlaudes...

Here is today's distich by Cato (so-called), with English translations by Duff and Chase, 2.16.

Nec te conlaudes, nec te culpaveris ipse;
Hoc faciunt stulti, quos gloria vexat inanis.


Nor praise nor blame thyself: Fools thus have erred,
When by vain hope of glory they were stirred.
(Chase)

Praise not yourself, nor to yourself take blame:
Fools do so, plagued by love of empty fame.
(Duff)

Here is the vocabulary:

nec - nor, and not
tu - you
conlaudo - praise, commend
culpo - blame, find fault
ipse - emphatic adj/pronoun
hic - this, this one
facio - do, make
stultus - foolish, fool
qui - who, which, that
gloria - glory
vexo - toss, trouble, annoy
inanis - empty, meaningless