Thursday, March 15, 2012

Sapientia Socratica

Here is today's distich by John Owen, with an English translation by Thomas Harvey, 6.39.

Sapientia Socratica
Omnia me, dum iunior essem, scire putabam;
Quo scio plus, hoc me nunc scio scire minus.


SOCRATICAL WISDOME
All things I thought I knew; But now confess
The more I know, I know, I know the less.


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:

iūnior, iūniōris - younger, junior
Sōcrāticus -a -um - belonging to Socrates, Socratic

dum: while (+ indic.); until (+ subj.); provided that (+ subj.)
ego meī mihi mē: I, me
hic haec hoc: this; hōc: on this account
minus -oris n.: a smaller number or amount, less; (adv.) minus: to a smaller extent, less
nunc: now
omnis -e: all, every, as a whole
plūs plūris n.: a greater amount or number, more
putō -āre: think, suppose
qui quae quod: who, which, what / quis quid: who? what? which?
sapientia -ae f.: wisdom
sciō -īre -īvī/-iī -ītum: know
sum, esse, fuī: be, exist