Orbis Minor
Quid iuvat immensi naturam noscere mundi,
Si lateant partes quas minor orbis habet?
Source: A.F. Van Vlaenderen, Epigrammata (1666), 158. Meter: Elegiac.
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:
What does it help (quid iuvat) to know the nature (naturam noscere) of the limitless world (immensi mundi) if you can't see the regions (si lateant partes) which the lesser orb contains (quas minor orbis habet)?
immensus, -a, -um: immeasurable, limitless, vast
habeō habēre habuī habitum: have, hold
ipse ipsa ipsum: him- her- itself
iuvō iuvāre iūvī iūtum: help, assist; please, delight
lateō latēre latuī: lie hidden, be hidden
minus -oris n.: a smaller number or amount, less; (adv.) minus: to a smaller extent, less
mundus -ī m.: world, universe, heavens
nātūra -ae f.: nature
nōscō nōscere nōvī nōtum: learn, know
orbis -is m.: circle; orbis terrārum: world
pars partis f.: part
qui quae quod: who, which, what / quis quid: who? what? which?
sī: if
tū tuī tibi tē: you (sing.)
