Sunday, July 22, 2012

Benevoli Multi, Consiliarii Pauci

This poem is from the proverbial distichs of Georgius Carolides (1569-1612), which you can read online at the University of Mannheim.

Benevoli Multi, Consiliarii Pauci
Et bene fac multis, et multis utere amicis;
Pauci animum teneant consiliumque tuum.


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:

benevolus, -a, -um: kind, friendly, well-wishing
consiliārius (consiliarius, m.): advisor, counselor

amīcus -a -um: friendly; (as subst.) friend
animus -ī m.: spirit, mind
bene: well
cōnsilium -ī n.: plan; council, group of advisors
et: and
faciō facere fēcī factum: do, make
multus -a -um: much, many; multō, by far
paucī -ae -a: few
que (enclitic) - and
teneō -ēre -uī tentum: hold
tuus -a -um: your
ūtor ūtī ūsus sum: use