April 30th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Animum debes mutare, non caelum."

 April 30th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Animum debes mutare, non caelum."

"Animum debes mutare, non caelum." 

"You ought to change your mind, not your sky." - Seneca's formulation of Horace's observation that changing climates does not necessarily change who you are, which is presumably your real problem. You would be better off solving your problems where you are than expecting that moving elsewhere will solve them. I post this as I am preparing to move back to my home state of Rhode Island after 12 years!

~ Lucius Annaeus Seneca (4 B.C.E. - 65 C.E.), Letters to Lucilius, XXVIII

Pridie Kalendas Maias anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI 

April 29th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Caelum non animum mutant, qui trans mare currunt."

 April 29th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Caelum non animum mutant, qui trans mare currunt."

"Caelum non animum mutant, qui trans mare currunt." 

"Those who go running across the sea change their sky but not their mind." - I remind myself as I am less than a month out from running across the country (not the sea) to a place I'd much rather live . . . 

~ Quintus Horatius Flaccus (65 - 8 B.C.E.). Epistles I.XI.27

a.d. III Kalendas Maias anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI 

April 28th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Pro Bono Publico"

  April 28th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Pro Bono Publico"

"Pro Bono Publico" 

"For the Public Good"

~ Motto on the flag of East Providence, Rhode Island - Where I shall reside beginning in June 2023!

a.d. IV Kalendas Maias anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI 

April 27th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Sors aspera monstrat amicum."

 April 27th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Sors aspera monstrat amicum."

"Sors aspera monstrat amicum." 

"Harsh fate/bad luck/bitter circumstance reveals a friend." - The idea that you an tell who your real friends are because they stand by you even when your circumstance - your luck - has turned harsh.

a.d. V Kalendas Maias anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI 

April 26th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Homo sum; humani nil a me alienum puto."

April 26th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Homo sum; humani nil a me alienum puto."

"Homo sum; humani nil a me alienum puto." 

"I am a human being; I consider nothing human to be foreign to me." 

~ Publius Terentius Afer (c. 185 - 159 B.C.E.), Heauton Timorumenos, 77

a.d. VI Kalendas Maias anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI 

April 25th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "aeger"

    April 25th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "aeger"

"aeger" 

"ill" or "invalid" - used in some English schools to mark the record of someone excused due to illness

a.d. VII Kalendas Maias anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI 

April 24th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "advocatus diaboli"

   April 24th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "advocatus diaboli"

"advocatus diaboli" 

"the devil's advocate" - not what most people think! A person appointed by the Catholic church to argue against the canonization of saints, to ensure a degree of rigor in the canonization process

a.d. VIII Kalendas Maias anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI 

April 23rd, 2023 Latin of the Day - "ad vitam aut culpam"

  April 23rd, 2023 Latin of the Day - "ad vitam aut culpam"

"ad vitam aut culpam" 

"for life or until fault" - a medieval, feudal practice of granting property or privileges that last for one's entire life, but can be revoked upon some misdeed by the recipient. The grant is for life . . . as long as one doesn't screw up.

a.d. IX Kalendas Maias anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI 

April 22nd, 2023 Latin of the Day - "ad vitam"

 April 22nd, 2023 Latin of the Day - "ad vitam"

"ad vitam" 

"for life," a bit of legal Latin found in wills to mean "for use during a person's life only"

a.d. X Kalendas Maias anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI 

April 21st, 2023 Latin of the Day - "adversaria"

  April 21st, 2023 Latin of the Day - "adversaria"

"adversaria" 

Vide note for April 20th on adversa; literally something like "things to which one has turned," a plural noun referring to notes or written observations. Also, used in English as a singular noun meaning a journal or commonplace book used for recording one's observations and collecting poems, brief essays, etc.

a.d. XI Kalendas Maias anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI 

April 20th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "adversa"

 April 20th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "adversa"

"adversa" 

An expression used by scholars to refer to observations they have made, literally something like "things noticed"

a.d. XII Kalendas Maias anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI 

April 19th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "ad verbum"

 April 19th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "ad verbum"

"ad verbum" 

"to the word," "word for word" 

a.d. XIII Kalendas Maias anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI

April 18th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "ad utrumque paratus"

 April 18th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "ad utrumque paratus"

"ad utrumque paratus" 

"prepared for either (circumstance)" 

~ Publius Vergilius Maro, Aeneid, ii.61

a.d. XIV Kalendas Maias anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI

April 17th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "ad usum Delphini"

 April 17th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "ad usum Delphini"

"ad usum Delphini" 

"for the use of the Dauphin" - expurgated;"the Dauphin" was the prince of France. Refers to a series of expurgated texts for the education and use of the prince.

a.d. XV Kalendas Maias anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI

April 16th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "ad unum omnes"

April 16th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "ad unum omnes"

"ad unum omnes"

"all to one" - id est, unanimously

a.d. XVI Kalendas Maias anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI

April 15th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "adscriptus glebae"

     April 15th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "adscriptus glebae"

"adscriptus glebae"

"allocated to the soil" - a Legal Latin description of a serf, one bound (literally, written into the records) to the soil

a.d. XVII Kalendas Maias anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI

April 14th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "ad unguem"

    April 14th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "ad unguem"

"ad unguem"

"to the fingernail" - id est, to perfection - a sculptor in antiquity would test the smoothness of a polished surface by running his fingernail over it

a.d. XVIII Kalendas Maias anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI

April 13th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "adsum"

   April 13th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "adsum"

"adsum"

"I am present," "I am here" - a formal answer to a roll call

Idibus Aprilibus anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI

April 12th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "ad rem"

  April 12th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "ad rem"

"ad rem"

"to the matter (at hand)" - id est, directly, to the matter at hand

Pridie Idus Apriles anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI

April 11th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "ad referendum"

 April 11th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "ad referendum"

"ad referendum"

"for consideration" - diplomatic term; when diplomats accept a proposal on behalf of their governments, they often do so ad referendum, meaning their acceptance is subject to the consideration and approval of their governments.

a.d. III Idus Apriles anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI

April 10th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "ad quod damnum"

  April 10th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "ad quod damnum"

"ad quod damnum"

"to what damage" - a bit of legal Latin referring to a writ used for assessing damages relating to land taken for public use

a.d. IV Idus Apriles anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI

April 9th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "ad quem"

  April 9th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "ad quem"

"ad quem"

"to/for whom/which"

a.d. V Idus Apriles anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI

April 8th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Ad praesens ova cras pullis sunt meliora."

 April 8th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Ad praesens ova cras pullis sunt meliora."

"ad praesens ova cras pullis sunt meliora."

"Eggs at the present are better than chickens tomorrow." - A Roman version of "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush."

a.d. VI Idus Apriles anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI

April 7th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "ad populum"

 April 7th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "ad populum"

"ad populum"

"To the people" - a statement addressed ad populum is intended for all of the people

a.d. VII Idus Apriles anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI

April 6th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "ad patres"

 April 6th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "ad patres"

"ad patres"

"To the fathers" - id est, dead. Having been sent or gathered ad patres, to one's fathers/ancestors, means to the afterlife, to be dead. 

a.d. VIII Idus Apriles anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI

April 5th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "ad nauseam"

 April 5th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "ad nauseam"

"ad nauseam"

"To nausea," "to seasickness," "to the point of illness," - we use this Latin expression in English, but rarely consider that our word "nausea" has nautical roots; the "NAU-" root means "ship," so "nausea" literally means "ship-sickness," "sea-sickness," whereas in English we think of it as an all-around turn for an upset stomach . . . 

Nonis Aprilibus anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI

April 4th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Res publica virum docet."

April 4th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Res publica virum docet."

"Res publica virum docet."

"Public affairs teach a man." Res publica is notoriously difficult to translate, but here the intention seems to be "public matters" rather than "the State" or "the Republic." The language is definitely gendered, which is not surprising considering the ancient Roman experience - "teaches a man," where we might think "educates and adult person," or "teaches a human beng."

a.d. IV Nonas Apriles anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI

April 3rd, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Serit arbores quae alteri saeclo prosint."

   April 3rd, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Serit arbores quae alteri saeclo prosint."

"Serit arbores quae alteri saeclo prosint."

"He plants trees that they may benefit another age/generation." Saeclo is a common syncopation of saeculo, an odd term for a poorly-defined period of time, usually 110 or 100 years. It often seems to be used roughly as "age" is used in English. As a reference to worldly time, it is later used to refer to the human world as opposed to the divine, the origin of the English word "secular," hence the common translation of the inscription on the seal of the United States, Novus Ordo Seclorum, as "New World Order" rather than the strictly more accurate "New Order of the Ages."

~ Caecilius Statius (c. 220 - 166 B.C.E.), Synephebi

a.d. III Nonas Apriles anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI

April 2nd, 2023 Latin of the Day - "ad misericordiam"

  April 2nd, 2023 Latin of the Day - "ad misericordiam"

"ad misericordiam"

"To pity/mercy" - id est, an argument or appeal to mercy or pity

a.d. IV Nonas Apriles anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI

April 1st, 2023 Latin of the Day - "ad locum" (ad loc.)

 April 1st, 2023 Latin of the Day - "ad locum" (ad loc.)

"ad locum" (abbreviated ad loc.)

"To/at the place" - usually, in English usage, referring to a place where a matter is explored most fully in a book. 

Kalendis Aprilibus anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI