LATIN in the REAL WORLD

Collecting examples of Latin, the language that just won't die, from the real world.

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Report: Students Who Take Latin Have Better Chance Of Summoning Demon Later In Life

CHICAGO—Saying the classical language was a practical choice for anyone interested in awakening the dead, a new report released Thursday b

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“Amavi” and “Ipsum”

“I loved” and “Itself”

Thanks to my fellow Sangro Valley Project team member, and a student and teacher of Latin, Ploy Keener, for doing the heavy lifting to share these Latin-labeled wines.

The Ipsum struck me as a stand in for “ipsum vinum” and a quick search on the interwebs led me to the Questio de usura, (ca. 1330) by Gerard of Siena.

Here’s an intriguing, and in my opinion sensible passage from the Questio, (lines 317-325), excerpted from L. Armstrong (2016) The Idea of a Moral Economy: Gerard of Siena on Usury, Restitution, and Prescription:

“So, for example, the proper and primary use of wine is drinking, which belongs to it by nature. But it may also be exchanged for something more necessary to, the possessor of, the wine than the wine itself, either to relieve his needs or to preserve his circumstances. Therefore, if anyone uses wine for some other purpose because of avarice or malice, he misdirects and abuses it and consequently acts wickedly.”

“…ut, verbi gratia, vinum ordinatur tanquam in proprium et principalem usum in ipsum potum, quia talis usus debetur ei secundum suam naturam. Potest insuper ordinari in commutacionem alterius rei que est magis necessaria ei est ipsum vinum vel propter sublevandam eius necessitatem, vel propter conservandam eius honestatem. Si quis ergo ordinat vinum in aliquem alium usum propter suam cupiditatem vel maliciam, ipse quidem vinum distrahit et eo abutitur, et per consequens agit viciose.”

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“MORS NULLI PARCIT MAGNŪ LICET OCCUPET ORBEM”

“Death spares no one permitted to occupy this great world

Note the truncation on "magnū" for the accusative singular of "magnum." I wonder if a better reading of "licet occupet" would be "permitted to seize or control" the world, based on the accompanying engraving. A nice reminder that parcere takes a dative and that licet can introduce a subjunctive. The image comes from Johann Theodore de Bry's late 16th century Emblemata Secularia. Thanks to @libroantguo for sharing this on Twitter!

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No Latin here, but the apotropaic/magical importance of Latin.

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"ARS" "Skill" Having suffered through a sewer back up last fall, in our new home, I can say that having a cleanup and restoration company with "skill" is highly desirable.

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"SCIENTIA POTENTATUS EST" "Knowledge is power" Potentatus, a nice masculine fourth declension noun, does mean "power". Making this technically correct. Potentatus, however, seems to be very uncommon in Classical Latin, appearing only once each in Cicero, Caesar, and Livy according to the Lewis and Short. A PHI Latin (latin.packhum.org) search only comes up with Caesar and Livy, plus an example from Justinian. Some of us might be more comfortable with the more popular "potentia", as in "Scientia potentia est." H/t to Thomas Schmid (@th_schmid) via Twitter for this found Latin.

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“Lythronax argestes”

A bit of found Greek on a Utah Transit Authority bus. A press release from the University of Utah (link below) explains the name.

Λύθρος - gore Άναξ - king Αργεστές - south wind

http://archive.unews.utah.edu/news_releases/newly-discovered-predatory-dinosaur-king-of-gore-reveals-the-origins-of-t-rex/

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"CARBE DIEM" A punny take on Horace' "carpe diem," ("seize the day"), in Odes 1.11. H/t to Sally Partridge, @sapartridge, for sharing this on Twitter.

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"Stemus simul" - the Kane family motto Translated here in DC Comics' Detective Comics #935 (2016) as "we stand together." But this appears to be a victim of Google translate. "Stemus simul" would be better translated as "let us stand at the same time." Simul leans toward a temporal meaning, rather than emphasizing a physical unity, which it seems to me was the meaning the writer, James Tynion IV, was aiming for here. Something like "stemus ad unum," "let us stand as one," would seem more likely in Latin. The use of the independent subjunctive "stemus" also seems off to me. Yes, it works as a jussive, "let us stand," but a straight up indicative would be better. "Stamus ad unum," "We stand as one," has more impact, being a factual statement (we do stand together and implies we always have) rather than the weaker command implied by the jussive, which reads to me as "hey, it would be great if we could stand united from here on out." Or are we to go further into the hypothetical waters of the independent subjunctive and read this as a potential subjunctive, "we might stand together;" a deliberative subjunctive, "should we stand together?;" or an optative subjunctive, "if only we stand together...". Plugging the translation "we stand together" into Google translate suggests that this is how Tynion/DC arrived at "stemus simul".

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"Usque ad Mor[tem] Bibendum" "Up to the time of death, there should be drink." Although, I'd guess it should really be something like "usque ad mortem bibendum vinum est," with a passive periphrastic construction. "Up to the time of death, wine must be drunk." From DC Comics Wonder Woman Rebirth #1. There's no obvious reason for this particular motto on a security access card in the comic. It doesn't really fit with the line below, "To Serve and [Protect]," as I assume it should read. The sentiment of "to serve and protect until death" would work well, but the "bibendum" throws quite a wrench in there.

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“EXPEDITIO LINCI”

“Link’s Expedition” or “The Expedition of Link”

Expeditio has more a sense of a military campaign against an enemy, than the sense of “adventure” that Nintendo had in the English version of “Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.”

h/t Dunstan Lowe, @Paigniographos, for sharing this via Twitter. 

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“SI VIS PACEM PARA BELLUM" 

“If you want peace, prepare war.”

A quote from Vegetius’ De Re Militari, a late Roman treatise on military strategy. Featured here in Warner Brothers’ Suicide Squad. 

h/t/ to @bretmulligan for sharing via Twitter.

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"IGNIS" "Fire" A bit of ironic branding on an Italian refrigerator.

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A non-digital Latin game resource from Paul Hudson (aka @ twostraws on Twitter), developer of the handy SPQR app.