Hypomnēmata Dē Rēbus Variīs: May 2023

Wednesday, May 10, 2023

May 10th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Brevitas delectat."

"Brevitas delectat."

"Brevity is pleasing." - Could not find a source for this one other than the notation "medieval," but it is certainly true!

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

Tuesday, May 9, 2023

May 9th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Haec ego mitto; his redimo meque meosque fabis!"

"Haec ego mitto; his redimo meque meosque fabis!."

"I send these; with these beans i redeem me and mine!" - The traditional chant of the Lemuria, an ancient Roman festival observed on the nights of May 9th, 11th, and 13th. It is a ritual of purification for the household, driving away evil spiits. In the middle of the night, the paterfamilias casts beans and chants this prayer.

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

Monday, May 8, 2023

May 8th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Quot homines tot sententiae; suos quoique mos."

"Quot homines tot sententiae; suos quoique mos."

"However many human beings (there are), (there are) that many opinions; to each their own way." - "Suos" is an archaic spelling for Classical Latin "suus," "quoique" is an archaic spelling for Classical Latin "cuique."

~ Publius Terentius Afer (c. 195/185 - c. 159 B.C.E.), Phormio, 454

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

Sunday, May 7, 2023

May 7th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "aere perennius"

"aere perennius"

"more lasting/enduring than bronze" - Horace describes his book of poetry as a monument "more lasting than bronze" - most bronze monuments of his era were melted down over a millennium ago, but we still read Horace, so he was right!

~ Quintus Horatius Flaccus (65 - 8 B.C.E.), Odes III.xxx.1

Nonis Maiis anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI

Saturday, May 6, 2023

May 6th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "aequo animo"

"aequo animo"

"with an even spirit," id est, calmly, with a calm mind. The inflectional form of the nouns tells us that it is not simply "an even spirit," but "WITH an even spirit."

Pridie Nonas Maias anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI

Friday, May 5, 2023

May 5th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "aequam servare mentem"

"aequam servare mentem"

"to keep an even mind," id est, "keep calm," "keep one's cool"

Quintus Horatius Flaccus (65 - 8 B.C.E.), Odes, II.iii.1 - this expression is an abbreviation of Horace's "aequam memento rebus in arduis servare mentem" - "remember to keep an even mind in difficult circumstances"

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

Thursday, May 4, 2023

May 4th, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Ubi libertas, ibi patria."

"Ubi libertas, ibi patria."

"Where there is liberty, there is my country." - Happy Rhode Island Independence Day!

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

Wednesday, May 3, 2023

May 3rd, 2023 Latin of the Day - "aegrotat"

"aegrotat"

"He/she is sick." Following usage from Oxbridge and Cambridge universities, also a general name for a doctor's note or other document certifying that a student is too ill to participate; a medical excuse . . . presumably because such a document would say, "He or she is sick."

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

Tuesday, May 2, 2023

May 2nd, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Aegrescit medendo."

"Aegrescit medendo."

"He/she/it becomes more ill from the remedy." - The idea of "the cure is worse than the disease," this phrase is from Vergil's Aeneid, in which King Latinus tries to calm Turnus' anger against the Trojans, only to inflame it further.

~ Publius Vergilius Maro (70 - 21 B.C.E.), Aeneid, xii.46

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

Monday, May 1, 2023

May 1st, 2023 Latin of the Day - "Nullumst iam dictum quod non sit dictum prius."

"Nullumst iam dictum quod non sit dictum prius."

"There is nothing said now which has not been said previously."

~ Publius Terentius Afer (c. 185 - 159 B.C.E.), Eunuchus, 41

Kalendis Maiis anno A.U.C. MMDCCLXXVI