Thought for the day:
It is the man who stops learning, whether he is 20 or 90, who is really old.
–Henry Ford
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I have more than a few regrets about the way I have lived my life up to this point. One of the major ones is that I often haven't taken advantage of the learning opportunities that came my way. A typical example is Latin. Hardly a day goes by that I don’t see some word or phrase, the meaning of which I’m not sure about. Almost always that word or phrase is in some way connected to Latin. Quite often I find that I am able to struggle along and work out a very rough translation, but this happens not nearly as often as I would like it to, or as it should.
One of the reasons for that is that when I took Latin at Roosevelt Junior High School in Compton, California, I was only in the 8th grade and I believe that’s much too young. I say “I took Latin” but what I really mean is, I sat in a classroom where Miss Hayworth—a very sweet but frustrated lady who often broke into tears during the class—was unsuccessfully trying to teach the subject. Like most of the students in the class (especially the boys), I had the attention span that you might expect from any normal 12-1/2 year old who, under duress, is taking a class about something he doesn’t understand, doesn’t like, and doesn’t see any future need for.
Actually, though, I am finding more and more that, either through osmossis or some other mysterious process, I apparently learned more in that class than I had intended to at the time. Every once in awhile I am able to recognize a root word and then am able to figure out a workable meaning. That makes the whole thing not only useable, but fun. I can see its value now in so many ways—values that I couldn’t envision at the time I was in school. But, while I wish I understood it better, if that requires taking a refresher course in Latin, I think I’ll pass, thank you.
The same goes for math; but that's another story.
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Jamey just told me how to get Comcast Sport Net Plus on our TV so we’ll be able to watch the Giants beat the Dodgers tonight after all.
Kids Central and Splash Dance
11 years ago
I actually took three years of Latin, and I still get baffled at some of the phrases! Mostly, we learned the words for war - yes, there were multiples - and other depressing subjects. My very favorite sentence to translate was "The dead horse is in the road." We translated variations of that same sentence over and over during the years! "Equus in viam est." I think that's right!
ReplyDeleteLol. I was a geek; I loved Latin in high school! Unfortunately, I only got to take one year. Latin II conflicted with chorus! ;)
ReplyDeleteI had to choose between Latin, French and German. That was tough! I ended up going with French because I am French. :-)
ReplyDeleteThere are some really well-known quotes from Latin, many of which may have been mistranslated.
ReplyDeleteVirgil said "Amor omnia vincit." which most people translate to "Love conquers all." Several Latin scholars contend that the context of the quote was that love is so powerful and all consuming that it can conquer or destroy anyone. It is one of those quotes that can be seen as a great promise or a great threat. I personally think the love is always good; it just gets perverted into obsession sometimes.
Another well know quote is Horace's "Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori: mors et fugacem persequitur virum nec parcit inbellis iuventae poplitibus timidove tergo." which translates to "How sweet and fitting it is to die for one's country: Death pursues the man who flees, spares not the hamstrings or cowardly backs Of battle-shy youths."
Although I completely disagree, it did spawn a great poem by Wilfred Owen.