Thursday, July 28, 2011

Ad Ponticum

Here is another distich by John Owen, with an English translation by Thomas Harvey, 3.58.

Ad Ponticum
Pauper es? Haud facile est fieri tibi, Pontice, ditem.
Dives es? Ex facile ditior esse potes.

Art poor? ’tis hard to make thee rich: but when
Th’ art rich, ’tis easie to be richer then.

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

dīs (dītis): rich, wealthy, sumptuous
Ponticus (Ponticī, m.): Ponticus

ad: to, up to, towards (+acc.)
dīves, dīvitis: rich (poet. dīs, dītis)
ex ē: out of, from (+ abl.)
facilis -e: easy
fīō fierī factus sum: become
haud: not
pauper -eris: poor, lowly
possum posse potuī: be able
sum, esse, fuī: be, exist
tū tuī tibi tē: you (sing.)