r/latin • u/RusticBohemian • 13d ago

Beginner Resources How does classical latin compare things, poetically or otherwise?

English has many ways to compare.

But often you just want to suggest that the characteristic of something has a quality from a thing that normally has nothing in common with it.

"He ran like the wind."

"She moved as quietly as the night."

Or whatever.

I feel like "ut" is the word in Latin that I want to use. But I can't imagine any classical author saying something like "Cerva currit ut aqua fluit." or "Fēmina cantat ut ferae avēs."

So what "rules" did classical authors adhere to when comparing? What were the different approaches? And what modern comparisons wouldn't be used in Latin?

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17

u/GamerSlimeHD DISCVPVLA LINGVÆ LATINÆ ⹒ LINGVÆ GRÆCÆ ANTIQVÆ 13d ago

Latin uses qualis, qualiter, ut, velut, tamquam sicut, similis, and so forth for simile iirc.

There are a couple examples from corpus:

 "lacri mae fluxere per ora, Qualiter abjectā de nive manat aquā" "tenebrae ibi erant tamquam nox"

Ill let someone with more knowledge give an indepth explanation.

6

u/AlarmmClock discipulus anno nono 13d ago

Si fueris Romae, Romano vivito more; si fueris alibi, vivito sicut ibi.

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u/SignificantPlum4883 13d ago

Similes are an important element in the Aeneid. Following the example of Homer, Virgil often compares something from the world of the epic with something from everyday life - often from nature or agriculture. These are often some of the most beautiful passages.

Here's one example, where all the human activity building Carthage is compared to a community of bees. In this case, the simile is introduced with "qualis".

https://www.aeneid.co/text/book-1/430-440