De Bono et Malo
Poena malum post fata manet, sua praemia iustum;
Alter quod sperat, quod timet alter, habet.
Thee Good, shall have Rewards, the Bad, severe
Torments hereafter: That hath hope, this fear.
Torments hereafter: That hath hope, this fear.
Source: John Owen (c.1564-c.1628), Epigrammata, 10.85. The English version is by Thomas Harvey. Meter: Elegiac. Note the substantive use of malum to refer to a "bad (person)." The second half of the first line parallels the first: poena malum manet, sua praemia iustum [manent]. These two people, the bad person and the just person, are the "one" and the "other," alter...alter, of the second line.
Punishment awaits the wicked man (poena manet malum) after death (post fata), his due reward (sua praemia) awaits the righteous man (iustum); the one has (alter habet) what he hopes for (quod sperat), the other has (alter) what he fears (quod timet).
The vocabulary is keyed to the DCC Latin Vocabulary list. All the words in this poem are on that list:
alter altera alterum: other of two
bonus -a -um: good
dē: down from, about, concerning (+ abl.)
et: and
fātum -ī n.: fate
habeō habēre habuī habitum: have, hold
iūstus -a -um: right, just, fair
malus -a -um: bad, evil; male: (adv.) badly
maneō manēre mānsī mānsum: remain
poena -ae f.: penalty, punishment
post: after (adv. and prep. +acc.)
praemium -iī n.: bounty, reward
qui quae quod: who, which, what / quis quid: who? what? which?
spērō -āre: to hope
suus -a -um: his own, her own, its own
timeō -ēre -uī: to fear, to dread
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(Blake's Good and Evil Angels - full size poster; poster made with AutoMotivator)
