Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Puppis Tuta in Flumine Modico

Here is another distich by Cato (so-called), 2.6, with English translations by Duff and Chase.

Puppis Tuta in Flumine Modico
Quod nimium est, fugito; parvo gaudere memento:
Tuta mage est puppis, modico quae flumine fertur.

Excess avoid: let little satisfy;
Safest the ships which smallest waters ply.
(Chase)

Please with small store, take care to avoid the extreme:
Safer the craft that sails a moderate stream.
(Duff)

The vocabulary is keyed to the DCC Latin Vocabulary list. There are two words in this poem that are not on the DCC list:

modicus, -a, -um: moderate, small
puppis (puppis, f.): ship, boat

ferō ferre tulī lātum: bear, carry
flūmen -inis n.: stream, river
fugiō fugere fūgī fugitum: flee, escape
gaudeō gaudēre gāvīsus sum: rejoice
magis: more
meminī meminisse: remember, recollect
nimius -a -um: too much, excessive; nimis or nimium: excessively
parvus -a -um: small
qui quae quod: who, which, what / quis quid: who? what? which?
sum, esse, fuī: be, exist
tutus -a -um: safe, protected