October 14th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "alere flammam"
"alere flammam"
"to feed the flame" - used figuratively, as in modern English
Pridie Idus Octobres anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI
Saturday, October 14, 2023
Friday, October 13, 2023
October 13th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "alea iacta est"
October 13th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "alea iacta est"
"alea iacta est"
"let the die be cast" - words sometimes attributed to Julius Caesar as he crossed the Rubicon River with his army and initiating a Roman Civil War
a.d. III Idus Octobres anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI
Thursday, October 12, 2023
October 12th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Alcinoo poma dare"
October 12th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Alcinoo poma dare"
"Alcinoo poma dare"
"to give fruit to Alcinous," roughly equivalent to English "to carry coals to Newcastle," in the Odyssey, Alcinous the Phaeacian has marvelous gardens and orchards, so giving him fruit represents something superfluous and unnecessary
a.d. IV Idus Octobres anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI
Wednesday, October 11, 2023
October 11th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Familiam cura!"
October 11th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Familiam cura!"
"Familiam cura!"
"Care for your household!" It is fair, I think, to translate this by the modern cognate (:Care for your family!"), but the Latin familia was much broader than the English "family" - it really translates more accurately as "household." From the Monostichs of Dionysius Cato
a.d. V Idus Octobres anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI
Tuesday, October 10, 2023
October 10th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "albo lapillo notare diem"
October 10th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "albo lapillo notare diem"
"albo lapillo notare diem"
"to mark the day with a white stone" - from Pliny the Elder's Natural History VII.xl.41, referring to a custom purported to go back to the Thracians of marking good and bad days with white and black stones in an urn, and being able to take out the pebbles at the end of a month and look over the number of good and bad days.
a.d. VI Idus Octobres anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI
Monday, October 9, 2023
October 9th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "albae gallinae filius"
October 9th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "albae gallinae filius"
"albae gallinae filius"
"son of a white hen" literally, meaning a very fortunate person, a person "born lucky"
a.d. VII Idus Octobres anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI
Sunday, October 8, 2023
October 8th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "a latere"
October 8th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "a latere"
"a latere"
"from the side" - can be used quite literally as "from the side" (the source of the English "lateral" and "laterally," but also used in the Catholic Church for cardinals with the confidence of the pope ("from his side") - a legatus a latere is a papal legate enjoying the special confidence of the pope. In diplomacy, a legatus a latere can be a representative plenipotentiary. The word can also be used in law for succession of property rights - hence the English word "collateral"
a.d. VIII Idus Octobres anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)