Qui Placere Laborat
Temporibus nostris quicumque placere laborat,
Det - cupiat - quaerat, plurima - pauca - nihil.
Source: Giuseppe Gatti, Sales Poetici, Proverbiales, et Iocosi (1703). Meter: Elegiac. The second line is an ingenious little triple expression where the second half contains, in order, the three objects for the three verbs in the first half of the line.
In our times (temporibus nostris) whoever labors to please (quicumque laborat placere) should give much (det plurima), desire little (cupiat pauca), seek nothing (quaerat nihil).
The vocabulary is keyed to the DCC Latin Vocabulary list. All the words in this poem are on that list:
cupiō -ere -īvī -ītum: desire
dō dare dedī datum: give
labōrō -āre: toil, work; be in trouble
nihil, nīl: nothing; not at all
noster nostra nostrum: our
paucī -ae -a: few
placeō placēre placuī placitum: please
plurimus -a -um: the greatest number of, very many; plurimī, most people
quaerō -rere -sīvī-situm: seek, inquire
quī- quae- quodcumque: who-, whatever
tempus -oris n.: time
(image source - full size poster; poster made with AutoMotivator)
