Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Aequalia Bellum Non Pariunt

This poem is from the proverbial distichs of Georgius Carolides (1569-1612), which you can read online at the University of Mannheim. This poem evokes the idea of a Golden Age, a paradise of equality from which we have now fallen.

Aequalia Bellum Non Pariunt
Si scirent homines primaevae aequalia sortis
Principia, haud quicquam bella timenda forent.

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

aequālis, -e (aequalis): equal
prīmaevus, -a, -um: youthful, primordial

bellum -ī n.: war
haud: not
homo hominis m.: human being
nōn: not
pariō parere peperī partum: bring forth, give birth to; accomplish
principium -iī n.: beginning
quis- quicquam/quidquam: any (single) person, anyone at all
sciō -īre -īvī/-iī -ītum: know
sī: if
sors sortis f.: lot, fate, destiny; oracle
sum, esse, fuī: be, exist
timeō -ēre -uī: to fear, to dread