Sunday, July 22, 2012

Stravit Fortunam Virtus

This poem is from the proverbial distichs of Georgius Carolides (1569-1612), which you can read online at the University of Mannheim. I have not been able to find a picture of Fortuna lying at the feet of Virtus - if anyone has any suggestions, let me know! The best I could do was the two of them facing off, as you can see below.

Stravit Fortunam Virtus
Strata iacet Fortuna pedes Virtutis ad imos;
Sic mage mens semper corpore firma suo est.


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:

firmus, -a, -um: steady, solid, strong, firm
sternō, sternere, strāvī, stratus: lay out, lay low

ad: to, up to, towards (+acc.)
corpus corporis n.: body
fortūna -ae f.: fortune
iaceō iacēre iacuī: lie
īnferus -a -um: low; īnferior: lower; īnfimus or īmus: lowest
magis: more
mēns mentis f.: mind
pēs pedis m.: foot
semper: always, ever
sīc: in this manner, thus; sīc . . . ut: in the same way as
sum, esse, fuī: be, exist
suus -a -um: his own, her own, its own
virtūs -ūtis f.: valor, manliness, virtue