Thursday, May 24, 2012

Prudentia


211     -     212     -     213


Prudentia
Ingeniis addo lucem Prudentia, cernens
Quod fuit atque quod est, quaeque futura trahunt.


Source: Georg Fabricius (1516-1571), Disticha. It is Foresight herself, Prudentia, speaking to us in the poem. Meter: Elegiac.

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:

I, Prudence, (Prudentia) add light to people's talents (ingeniis addo lucem), discerning what was (cernens quod fuit) and what is (atque quod est) and what future things will bring (quaeque futura trahunt).

It helps to remember that Prudentia is a Latin contraction of pro-videntia, fore-sight.

prūdentia (prūdentiae, f.): foresight, wisdom

addo -dere -didī -ditum: give to
atque, ac: and in addition, and also, and; (after comparatives) than; simul atque, as soon as
cerno cernere crēvī crētum: discern, separate
ingenium -ī n.: disposition, ability, talent
lūx, lūcis f.: light of day
que: and (enclitic)
qui, quae, quod: who, which, what; quis quid: who? what? which?
sum, esse, fuī: be, exist
sum, esse, fuī: be, exist
traho -ere trāxī trāctum: drag, draw