Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Epitaphium: Caelestia Quaerite


426     -     427     -     428


This little poem is from Giuseppe Gatti's Sales Poetici, Proverbiales, et Iocosi, published in 1703.

Epitaphium: Caelestia Quaerite
Vivite, qui legitis; caelestia quaerite: nostra haec
In cineres tandem gloria tota redit.


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:

epitaphium (epitaphiī, n.): epitaph

caelestis -e: from or of heaven; caelestēs, the gods
cinis cineris m./f.: ashes, embers
glōria -ae f.: glory, fame
hic haec hoc: this; hōc: on this account
in: in, on (+ abl.); into, onto (+ acc)
legō legere lēgī lēctum: gather, choose, read
noster nostra nostrum: our
quaerō -rere -sīvī-situm: seek, inquire
qui quae quod: who, which, what / quis quid: who? what? which?
redeō -īre -iī -itum: go back, return
tandem: finally
tōtus -a -um: whole, entire
vīvō vīvere vīxī victum: live