Varro: On the Latin Language (De Lingua Latina)

OF M. TERENTIUS VARRO ON THE LATIN

LANGUAGE: ON THE DISCIPLINE OF THE ORIGINS OF WORDS

TO CICERO

BOOK IV. BOOK V ENDS HERE.

An ornamental floral initial Q begins the text.

I have set out to explain in six books how names were imposed upon things in the Latin language. Of these, I made three before this one, which I sent to Septumius. In them is [a treatment] of the discipline which they call etymology. In the first volume, those things that were said against it; in the second, those [said] for it; in the third, those [said] concerning it. In these, I shall write to you about what things names were imposed upon in the Latin language, and [about] those that are in common use among the poets, [and] what the natures of each word are, [and] how a word is imposed aquare to water and inquare to inquire. Thus, aquare is shown to be from petendo seeking/aiming, with persistence following. Inquare is said to be imposed when it demonstrates in what one ought not to seek, and it indicates persistence is to be [there], because if one persists in that in which one ought to remain, that is perseverance. The Greeks call the former part, where they examine why and from where words are, etymology. The latter, PERI SEMAINOMENON concerning things signified. Concerning these two things, I shall speak indiscriminately in these books, but more sparingly about the latter. They are obscure for this reason: because not every imposition of words exists, because antiquity has destroyed some; nor does that which exists consist entirely of [correct] imposition; nor does everything that was correctly imposed remain. For many words have been interpolated by the changing of letters, and not every origin of our language is from native words, and many words show one thing now [and] meant another before, like hostis enemy/stranger. For at that time, they used that word to mean a foreigner who used his own laws; now they call him what they then called a perduellem public enemy. In that class of words, it will be clearer [to show] from where the origin can be seen by the case in which it occurs. I shall repeat it from there. It is apparent that it ought to be done thus: because in the nominative case, which we speak of, ineos is more obscure to be from potentia power than when we say impotentem powerless, and it becomes more obscure if you say postquam impos: for it seems to signify ponis you place rather than potente powerful. Antiquity does not corrupt a few [things], it takes away many. You see a boy whom you saw to be beautiful, you see him to be deformed in old age; the third century does not see that man whom the first saw. Wherefore that which oblivion, the fugitive, has already taken from our ancestors, diligence, the mute and stupid, cannot pull back.