Sunday, July 22, 2012

Virtus Aeterna Praeferenda

This poem is from the proverbial distichs of Georgius Carolides (1569-1612), which you can read online at the University of Mannheim.

Virtus Aeterna Praeferenda
Virtuti aeternae mortales confer honores:
Sunt nihil; hanc illis, qui sapis, ante feras.

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:

praeferō, praeferre: put before, prefer
sapiō, sapere: savor, be wise, understand

aeternus -a -um: everlasting, eternal
ante: before, in front of (adv. and prep. + acc.)
cōnferō -ferre -tulī -lātum: collect, bring to
ferō ferre tulī lātum: bear, carry
hic haec hoc: this; hōc: on this account
honor -ōris m.: honor, glory; office, post
ille illa illud: that
mortālis -e: liable to death, mortal
nihil, nīl: nothing; not at all
qui quae quod: who, which, what / quis quid: who? what? which?
sum, esse, fuī: be, exist
virtūs -ūtis f.: valor, manliness, virtue