Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Exerce studio...

Here is today's distich by Cato (so-called), 4.21, with English translations by Duff and Chase.

Exerce studio quamvis perceperis artem:
Ut cura ingenium, sic et manus adiuvat usum.


Practice with zeal the skill thou'st learned: Thou'lt find,
Use trains the hand as study does the mind.
(Chase)

Practice with zeal an art once learned: as pains
Help talent, so the hand, used deftly, trains.
(Duff)

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

adiuvo, -āre, adiūvī, adiūtum - help, come to the aid of
percipio, -ere, percēpī, perceptum - perceive, learn, feel

ars artis f.: skill
cūra -ae f.: care, concern
et: and
exerceo -ercēre -ercuī -ercitum: train, exercise, carry on
ingenium -ī n.: disposition, ability, talent
manus -ūs m.: hand; band of men
quamvīs: however you like; although
sīc: in this manner, thus; sīc . . . ut, in the same way as
studium -ī n.: eagerness, zeal
ūsus -ūs m.: use, experience
ut, uti: as (+ indic.); so that, with the result that (+ subj.)