Friday, April 27, 2012

Cum Venere et Baccho...

Here is today's distich by Cato (so-called), 4.30, with English translations by Duff and Chase.

Cum Venere et Baccho lis est et iuncta voluptas:
Quod lautum est, animo conplectere, sed fuge lites.


With love and wine pleasure and strife are knit;
Cleave to the good in these; the bad omit.
(Chase)

With love and wine are strife and pleasure knit:
Take to your heart the joy; the strife omit.
(Duff)

Here is the vocabulary:

cum - with
Venus - goddess of love, love
Bacchus - god of wine
lis - quarrel, lawsuit
sum - be, exist
et - and, also
iungo - join
voluptas - pleasure
qui - who, which, that
lautus - elegant, fine, sumptuous
animus - spirit, mind
conplector - embrace
sed - but
fugio - flee, run away from