Sermo Mollis Frangit Iram
Saepe gravem sermo confringit mollior iram;
Fit maior duro, quam fuit ante, furor.
Source: Johann Glandorp (1501-1564), Disticha, 245. 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:
A softer word (sermo mollior) can often shatter (saepe confringit) someone's serious anger (gravem iram), while because of a harsh word (duro), the rage gets worse (fit maior furor) than it was before (quam fuit ante).
confringō, confringere: break in pieces, shatter
ante: before, in front of (adv. and prep. + acc.)
dūrus -a -um: hard, tough, harsh
fīō fierī factus sum: become
frangō frangere frēgī frāctum: break, shatter
furor -ōris m.: rage, fury
gravis -e: heavy
īra irae f.: wrath, anger
māior -ius: greater, older; maiōres -um: ancestors
mollis -e: soft, yielding, gentle
quam: how?; (after comparative) than
saepe: often
sermo -ōnis m.: conversation, discourse
sum, esse, fuī: be, exist
