Sententiae, Unit 3

  1. Cimon, vir magnae sapientiae magnam benevolentiam habet.

vir: nominative masculine singular, a second declension noun. This noun is in apposition to the proper name, Cimon. Apposition is a way of modifying one noun with another noun by placing in a sentence without any connective (like "and") to distinguish them them; they are often placed side by side. Appositive nouns must always agree in case with the noun which it modifies by renaming (Cimon in this case).

magnae: genitive feminine singular of the 1st/2nd declension adjective magnus, magna, magnum. It modifies sapientiae, so it agrees with it in number, case and gender.

sapientiae: genitive feminine singular, from the 1st declension noun sapintia, sapientiae (f.). This is a genitive of description: it tells you something more about the man (vir) Cimon.

magnam: accusative feminine singular of the 1st/2nd declension adjective magnus, magna, magnum. It modifies (or describes) benevolentiam, so it agrees with it in number, case and gender.

benevolentiam: accusative singular feminine, of the first declension noun benevolentia, benevolentiae (f.). It is in the accusative case because it is the direct object of the sentence.

habet: 3rd person singular, present active indicative of the verb habeo, habere, habui, habitum (a 2nd conjugation verb).

Cimon, a man of great wisdom, has great benevolence.

vir: not just a man, but a "manly man", a man of manliness, or virtus.
sapientia: wisdom in the sense of "good sense"
benevolentia: literally "good will"


  1. Nulla copia pecuniae avarum virum satiat

nulla: nominative feminine singular of the 1st declension adjective nullus, nulla, nullum. (It is an "-ius" adjective.) This adjective modifies copia, so it agrees with it in number, case and gender.

copia: nominative feminine singular of the 1st declension noun copia, copiae (f.). This is the subject of the sentence, so it is in the nominative case.

pecuniae: genitive feminine singular of the 1st declension noun pecunia, pecuniae (f.). This is a genitive of description: it tells you something more -- something specific -- about copia (i.e. not just any abundance, but the abundance of money in particular).

avarum: accusative masculine singular (2nd declension adjective); this adjective modifies (it describes) virum, so it has to agree with it in number, case and gender.

virum: accusative masculine singular of a 2nd declension noun (vir, viri, m.). It is the direct object of the sentence, so it has to be in the accusative case..

satiat: 3rd person singular present actvie indicative of the 1st declension verb satio, satiare, satiavi, satiatum.

No abundance of money satisfies a greedy man.

Epicurean wisdom, as distilled by the Roman poet Horace, advised that the wise man should know and desire quod satis est ("what is enough").


11. Modum tenere debemus

modum: accusative masculine singular (of the 2nd declension noun modus, modi, m.). This is the direct object of the sentence, so it has to be in the accusative case.
 
tenere: present active infinitive of the 2nd conjugation verb teneo, tenere, tenui, tentum. It is a "complementary infinitive" after debeo. You have seen a complementary infinitive with debere before: Unit 2, Sentence 12
 
debemus: 1st person plural, present active indicative (of the 2nd conjugation verb debeo, debere, debui, debitum).
 
We ought always to have moderation.


modum: in philosophical language, this means "the appropriate measure". It is related to the English word, "mood", which tends to mean "noticeable or inappropriate mood."