Sunday, April 10, 2011

Mendax Vera Loquens

This little poem comes from Disticha de Educatione of Urbano Appendini, published in 1834; you can see the whole book at Google Books.

Mendax Vera Loquens
Quid miser acquirit mendax? Ut vera loquenti
Iurantique etiam credere nemo velit.

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:

acquīrō, acquīrere: acquire, obtain, get, gain
mendax (mendācis): lying; liar

crēdō crēdere crēdidī crēditum: believe
etiam: also, even
iūrō -āre: take an oath, swear; iūs iūrandum, oath
loquor loquī locūtus sum: speak, talk
miser misera miserum: wretched, pitiable
nēmo: no one (gen. nullius, dat. nulli, abl. nullo or nulla > nullus -a -um)
que (enclitic) - and
qui quae quod: who, which, what / quis quid: who? what? which?
ut, uti: as (+ indic.); so that, with the result that (+ subj.)
vērus -a -um: true; vērē, truly
volō velle voluī: wish, be willing