Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Homicidium

Here is today's distich by John Owen, with an English translation by Thomas Harvey, 4.46.

Homicidium
Unus homo per se ipse potest occidere mille;
Unum hominem possunt vix generare duo.


MANSLAUGHTER
One man himself may kill a thousand men:
But two can scarce beget one man agen.


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:

generō -āre - create, procreate, produce
homicīdium, homicīdiī n. - manslaughter, murder

duo: two
homo hominis m.: human being
ipse ipsa ipsum: him- her- itself
mille (pl.) milia: thousand
nōmen -inis n.: name
occīdō -cīdere -cīdī -cīsum: kill, cut down
per: through (+acc.)
possum posse potuī: be able
sui, sibi, sē: him- her- itself
ūnus -a -um: one
vix: scarcely