Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Quod factum scis non recte...

Here is today's distich by Cato (so-called), 3.15, with English translations by Duff and Chase.

Quod factum scis non recte, nolito silere,
Ne videare malos imitari velle tacendo.


Speak out when wrong thou knowest hath been done,
Lest thou thro' silence urge the culprit on.
(Chase)

Do not conceal ill deeds within your ken,
Lest silence look like aping wicked men.
(Duff)

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

imitor, -ārī - imitate, copy, mimic
sileo, -ēre, siluī - be silent, don't speak

facio facere fēcī factum: do, make
malus -a -um: evil
nē: lest, that not
nōlo nōlle, nōluī: be unwilling
nōn: not
qui, quae, quod: who, which, what; quis quid: who? what? which?
rectus -a -um: straight, direct
scio -īre -īvī/-iī -ītum: know
taceo -ēre -uī -itum: be silent; tacitus -a -um, silent
video -ēre vīdī vīsum: see
volo velle voluī: wish, be willing