Bene Agitur
Non satis est vitare malum; plus quaeritur ultra,
Nam bene non agitur, cum male non agitur.
Source: Giuseppe Gatti, Sales Poetici, Proverbiales, et Iocosi (1703). Meter: Elegiac. Note the use of cum, meaning "when," with the indicative: cum male non agitur.
It is not enough (non satis est) to avoid evil (vitare malum); beyond that (ultra) more is required (plus quaeritur) for one is not doing good (nam bene non agitur) when not doing evil (cum male non agitur).
The vocabulary is keyed to the DCC Latin Vocabulary list. All the words in this poem are on that list:
agō agere ēgī āctum: drive, do, act
bene: well
cum: with (prep. + abl.); when, since, although (conjunction + subj.)
malus -a -um: bad, evil; male: (adv.) badly
nam or namque: for, indeed, really
nōn: not
plūs plūris n.: a greater amount or number, more
quaerō -rere -sīvī-situm: seek, inquire
satis/sat: enough, sufficient
sum, esse, fuī: be, exist
ultrā: beyond, further (adv. and prep. + acc.)
vītō -āre: avoid, shun
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