LatinLanguage.us

I read on the LATINTEACH mailist about Scholiastae.org, a new wiki by William Annis that features open commentary on ancient texts–a great idea that I wish I’d come up with. I’m getting an account–you probably should too.

Added to the blogroll.

British readers are no doubt familiar with Gail Trimble, the Oxford Latin doctoral candidate who has dominated this year’s University Challenge (the UK equivalent of the US Quiz Bowl).

Her Corpus Christi College team won the event this past Monday, so illi doctae maximis honoribus gratulemur, and let me highlight one quote from her university homepage:

I chose to study Classics at university mostly because of the variety. Already at school in Latin and Greek I could combine language work with studying different kinds of literature, and I liked the idea of being able to study philosophy, history, art and even philology (though at the time I wasn’t too sure what that was) all within one degree.

Well said Ms. Trimble; such is the value of a classical education…

…adding, I wish I’d thought to check Mary Beard’s site before posting. Great piece, and she’s write in admiring a classicist who composes verse “over a gin and tonic". That’s been my MO ever since grad school:-)

The Oscars are this weekend, and by all accounts the excellent Indian film Slumdog Millionaire is going to do very well.

Many reviewers have pointed out how “old-fashioned” the film is, while a few others notice the rather obvious parallels with Dickens’ Oliver Twist. But for me, the film’s structure and themes harkened back to some classical ideas about good storytelling. Like Aeneas, the carefully-structured quest of Jamal requires him to make a personal transformation and eventually surrender to divine will. But the quest also serves to hold a mirror up to Indian society itself, much like the way Lucan or Petronius’ silver-age novel Satyricon used a “simple” story to reveal some of the ugly side of Rome. And, of course, Destiny is provided with a large role, something I wrote about in previous post. The difference in Slumdog is that destiny as divine providence is taken far more seriously than in most modern art (i.e. it doesn’t rely on a scientific explanation, as when Lost uses time travel to introduce it as a storytelling element), and this form of Destiny is much more like the Fatum and Numina of ancient literature.

So I agree the film is old fashioned, with structural elements perhaps even older than most reviewers suspect. And the film proves such a style doesn’t necessarily have to be boring. Certainly placing the story in a novel location (at least for an American audience) helps, but the essential challenges Jamal faces matter far beyond the slums of Mumbai, and the “old-fashioned” structure does a pretty good job exploring these.

My blog naturally focuses on literature from the ancient world, but please don’t take this post as a rally for the “good old days” of filmmaking (my wife and I also thought The Wrestler deserved a Best Picture nomination, which would hardly be described as “Capraesque"). Read enough Latin and Greek and you too can bring a classical perspective to a lot of modern film/TV/literature, one that gives you opportunity to observe firsthand how the best of art resonates across the generations.

That Coldplay song Viva la Vida has been bouncing around my head since last summer. It’s not the greatest tune in the world–too bombastic for my taste–but the line “Roman Cavalry choirs are singing” caught my ear and prompted an immediate Latin translation –Chori Equitum Romanorum–which serendipitously matches the English rhythm.

Alas, most of the song’s lyrics are–to be charitable–melancholy imagist nonsense. Nevertheless, here’s a shot at the chorus:

En campanae Hierosolymorum,
Chori equitum Romanorum
Vitrum, ensis estote aegis,
Legati mihi in alienis.
Quamquam causam nullam causor
A Sancto Petro non vocabor
Verbum non honestum
Cum regnavi iam mundum.

Eh…not great, but these are the things I waste my time with.

English words are derived from many other languages, Latin and Greek being chief among them. But Latin vocabulary is largely self-derived, so abstract terms often have an in-language derivation. Students often overlook these simple derivations in the rush to learn vocabulary. For example, who here has noticed the nec seen at the head of words like neglectus, nego, and negotium:

Neglegens/neglectus - “careless/disregarded” = nec + lego/lectus - “not gather/gathered”

Nego - “deny” = nec + aio - “not say/agree”

Negotium - “business, trouble” = nec + otium - “not leisure”

Small details like this can make the language a little easier to learn…

Michael Gilleland at Laudator Temporis Acti has two wonderful excepts on “How to Read"–from Basil Gildersleeve (yes, of the indispensible Gildersleeve & Lodge Latin grammar) and Shackleton Bailey.

The mantra I give to all my Latin students–once they have a firm handle on basic grammar–is “READ READ READ"; there is no better way to learn the language, and (as I hope this blog proves) it can be quite fun.

Full text can be found here. Only found one obvious error:

Line 62: cespite should be caespite

The singing contest between Idas and Astacus (II.28-91) follows the expected pattern where one singer picks up on a theme started by the other, often reversing reworking it to promote his own position.

Read more! »

For the handful who haven’t seen this yet. Catullus would be proud, though I agree with Rogue Classicism–this isn’t really all that punk…

Full text can be found here.

Summary: The shepherd Idas and gardener Astacus hold a singing competition for the virgin Crocale (intactam Crocalen).

Read more! »

…is coming to Nantes the last weekend in March; all the details you will ever need can be found here.

I wrote a brief post for last year’s festival, which included a performance by Ista!. If Boris Johnson shows up at this year’s festivities, that alone is worth the price of admission.

I visited Nantes briefly some years ago while driving north for a tour of Brittany. Besides the festival, there is plenty for fans of the ancient world to see. Gallic and Roman ruins are still preserved at the impressive Château des Ducs de Bretagne, and of course a day trip to the prehistoric alignments at Carnac is highly recommended.

I’ve mentioned before how much I enjoyed the Asterix comics series when I was younger; it still seems like a great way to attract kids to the subject. Unfortunately, it seems a family dispute is threatening the title more seriously than any Roman legion ever did.

Calpurnius is not mentioned by any other writer from the classical age, so scholars must rely on internal evidence to date his work. Two historical allusions in the first Eclogue give us a clue.

Read more! »

I expected my post about the Latin on Lost would get a decent post count, but I am truly surprised by the enormous number of hits for the off-topic follow-up The Role of Destiny was a true stunner. I did a little digging, and apparently someone posted the link on a Turkish message board devoted to the American TV show. I don’t know Turkish, but that’s at least what I surmise…

Just thought you might find it interesting. I’ve found over the past year that blogging can be an odd experience; you never know who is reading…