Nolite in via morari; pluvia enim mox cadet.

in

Breakdown of Nolite in via morari; pluvia enim mox cadet.

• mox: soon
• via: the street
• nolle: to not want

Questions & Answers about Nolite in via morari; pluvia enim mox cadet.

Why does the sentence begin with nolite?

Nolite is used to give a negative command to more than one person: do not ...

It is the plural imperative of nolo, nolle (to be unwilling), and Latin commonly uses:

• noli
  • infinitive = do not ... (to one person)
• nolite
  • infinitive = do not ... (to more than one person)

So:

• Noli morari = Do not delay / don’t linger (to one person)
• Nolite morari = Do not delay / don’t linger (to several people)

This is one of the most common ways to form a prohibition in Latin.

Why is morari an infinitive after nolite?

Because that is the normal construction with noli / nolite.

Latin expresses this kind of negative command as:

• noli
  • infinitive
• nolite
  • infinitive

So nolite ... morari literally means something like be unwilling to delay, but in natural English it means do not delay or don’t linger.

Even though morari is an infinitive, the whole phrase functions as a command.