Melius Spera
Tranquillis rebus semper diversa timeto;
Rursus in adversis melius sperare memento.
When fortune smiles, forget not she may frown;
When fortune frowns, be not too much cast down.
(Chase)
When all is calm, dread ever fortune's change:
Then, in bad times, our hope towards good must range.
(Duff)
Source: The Distichs of Cato (4th century), 4.26. Meter: Dactylic Hexameter. Note the future imperatives: timeto and memento.
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:
When fortune frowns, be not too much cast down.
(Chase)
When all is calm, dread ever fortune's change:
Then, in bad times, our hope towards good must range.
(Duff)
Source: The Distichs of Cato (4th century), 4.26. Meter: Dactylic Hexameter. Note the future imperatives: timeto and memento.
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:
tranquillus, -a, -um: calm, quiet
adversus -a -um: facing, opposed; unfavorable; adversus (-um): (adv. and prep.) facing, opposite, against, opposed (to)
dīversus -a -um: different, diverse
in: in, on (+ abl.); into, onto (+ acc)
melior -ius: better
meminī meminisse: remember, recollect
rēs reī f.: thing (rēs pūblica, commonwealth; rēs familiāris, family property, estate; rēs mīlitāris, art of war; rēs novae, revolution)
rūrsus: back, again
semper: always, ever
spērō -āre: to hope
timeō -ēre -uī: to fear, to dread
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