Vincula Mortis
O mors, quam dura, quam fortia sunt tua iura!
Non est tam fortis, qui rumpat vincula mortis.
Source: Florilegium Gottingense (ed. Voigt), 79. Meter: Dactylic Hexameter. Note the nice rhymes in both lines: dura-iura and fortis-mortis.
The vocabulary is keyed to the DCC Latin Vocabulary list. All the words in this poem are on that list!
O death, (o mors) how harsh, (quam dura), how strong (quam fortia) are your laws! (sunt tua iura) There is no man so strong (non est tam fortis) who can break (qui rumpat) the bonds of death (vincula mortis).
dūrus -a -um: hard, tough, harsh
fortis -e: brave
iūs iūris n.: right, justice, law
mors mortis f.: death
nōn: not
quam: how?; (after comparative) than
qui, quae, quod: who, which, what; quis quid: who? what? which?
rumpo -ere rūpī ruptum: break, rupture
sum, esse, fuī: be, exist
tam: so
tuus -a -um: your
vinculum -ī n.: bond, fetter, tie
