AboutMichael Expertise Ph.D. Cand. in Latin. Conversant with all forms of the language: classical, mediaeval, and modern. My purpose is to provide information on the Latin language of all periods. PLEASE DO NOT SUBMIT REQUESTS FOR TRANSLATIONS. If you need assistance for a translation projects, there are other resources that provide that service, such as Vivat Latina! at www.traditio.com/latin.htm.
Experience I have 45 years of teaching at all levels from public school through university postgraduate. I read, write, and speak Latin daily.
Question I believe I copied this correctly. I do not know the language. UVA UVAM
VIDENDOU VARIA FIT. I think it means "a grape ripens when it sees another
grape". I love this saying but I wanted to get it right. Thank you so very much.
Answer UVA UVAM VIDENDO VARIA FIT. A grape by seeing a grape becomes varied [in color]. The sense is that a grape next to another grape
darkens, to the point of spoilage. The old proverb, which is used in the Lonesome Dove, is more or less equivalent to our "one bad apple spoils the barrel." The source is a scholiast's comment on a line from Juvenal's second satire.
