Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Bis Dat, Qui Cito Dat
Bis Dat, Qui Cito Dat
Quod peto, ne differ; si differs, gratia facti
Tota perit: bis dat, qui cito vota facit.
Source: Georgius Carolides (1569-1612), Farrago, 3.43. Meter: Elegiac. The title of the poem is a famous Latin saying, which is nicely restated in the poem's concluding words: bis dat, qui cito vota facit.
Don't put off giving (ne differ) what I ask (quod peto); if you put it off (si differs), the grace of the act (gratia facti) is wholly lost (tota perit): he gives twice (bis dat), who fulfills his promises quickly (qui cito vota facit).
The vocabulary is keyed to the DCC Latin Vocabulary list. There is only one word in this poem that is not on the DCC list:
bis: twice
cītus -a -um: swift; citō swiftly
differō differre distulī dīlātum: scatter; publish, divulge; differ; defer, postpone
dō dare dedī datum: give
faciō facere fēcī factum: do, make
grātia -ae f.: favor, influence, gratitude
nē: lest, that not
pereō -īre -iī -itum: perish, be lost
petō petere petīvī petītum: seek, aim at
qui quae quod: who, which, what / quis quid: who? what? which?
sī: if
tōtus -a -um: whole, entire
votum -ī n.: solemn promise, vow; hope
