Deconstructing "Ceterum autem censeo Carthaginem esse delendam."

[Subdeacon Joe]

Deconstructing Ceterum autem censeo Carthaginem esse delendam usually abbreviated to Carthago delenda est:

 

"The phrase employs the gerundive, a verbal adjective, of deleo, delere, delevi, deletum, "to destroy",[2] (delendus, -a, -um). The future passive participle "delenda" (meaning "to be destroyed") is then combined with the verb sum ("to be"[3]) or parts thereof, adds an element of compulsion or necessity, yielding "is to be destroyed", or, as it is more commonly rendered "must be destroyed". This then forms a predicative adjective.[4] This construction in Latin is known as the passive periphrastic. Carthago, -inis being a feminine noun, the feminine gender of the gerundive is applied. The fuller forms Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam or Ceterum autem censeo Carthaginem esse delendam use the so-called accusative and infinitive for the indirect statement."

Edited January 1 by Subdeacon Joe

[Sedalia Dave]

2 hours ago, Subdeacon Joe said:

Deconstructing Ceterum autem censeo Carthaginem esse delendam usually abbreviated to Carthago delenda est:

 

"The phrase employs the gerundive, a verbal adjective, of deleo, delere, delevi, deletum, "to destroy",[2] (delendus, -a, -um). The future passive participle "delenda" (meaning "to be destroyed") is then combined with the verb sum ("to be"[3]) or parts thereof, adds an element of compulsion or necessity, yielding "is to be destroyed", or, as it is more commonly rendered "must be destroyed". This then forms a predicative adjective.[4] This construction in Latin is known as the passive periphrastic. Carthago, -inis being a feminine noun, the feminine gender of the gerundive is applied. The fuller forms Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam or Ceterum autem censeo Carthaginem esse delendam use the so-called accusative and infinitive for the indirect statement."

 

That made my head hurt. 

[John Kloehr]

Carthage must fall.

 

The use of three words as a reduction from the original Latin evidences the loss of linguistic skill in society at large. The use of a single noun, a verb, and an intervening word to join them, completes a sentence. This intervening word is a part of speech. "Fall" can be confusing as a verb as it can also be used as a noun. It is spelled the same as as an annual season, so meaning must be determined from context.

[Pat Riot]

I should memorize that and use it to ward off people that I don’t want to associate with…

 

Guy: ”Hi! My Name is Bob. Nice car. I was wondering, where do you see yourself in five years? I ask because I would like to show you my business and ways to increase your income ten-fold in five years. Want to hear about it?”

 

Me: “Yes, but first you need to hear this… “

This is when I repeat Joe’s fascinating post above.

Fascinating because that is the best description of anything I have ever seen that appears to be completely formulated to explain yet baffle.

[Colorado Coffinmaker]

 

PLUS ONE for Sedalia Dave.  

 

Whew!!!  Literary Brain Freeze  😵

[Subdeacon Joe]

8 minutes ago, Colorado Coffinmaker said:

 

PLUS ONE for Sedalia Dave.  

 

Whew!!!  Literary Brain Freeze  😵

 

It does take several reads and parsing to make sense of it,  doesn't it?   

 

[DocWard]

Now I know why Latin is a dead language.

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

18 hours ago, Subdeacon Joe said:

Deconstructing Ceterum autem censeo Carthaginem esse delendam usually abbreviated to Carthago delenda est:

 

"The phrase employs the gerundive, a verbal adjective, of deleo, delere, delevi, deletum, "to destroy",[2] (delendus, -a, -um). The future passive participle "delenda" (meaning "to be destroyed") is then combined with the verb sum ("to be"[3]) or parts thereof, adds an element of compulsion or necessity, yielding "is to be destroyed", or, as it is more commonly rendered "must be destroyed". This then forms a predicative adjective.[4] This construction in Latin is known as the passive periphrastic. Carthago, -inis being a feminine noun, the feminine gender of the gerundive is applied. The fuller forms Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam or Ceterum autem censeo Carthaginem esse delendam use the so-called accusative and infinitive for the indirect statement."

I used to be a school teacher, was an English major, and have always been somewhat of a word smith.

 

There are only about six or seven words I even recognized in that.  

 

A tip of the hat to you.