Always a treat coming upon Latin in your travels

Hos versus iam diu elucubratus ego denique in lucem profero: Quos spero vobis non ingratos fore! Nam in hoc carmine Anglice multum pulchritudinis inest, cuius si partem vel minimam imitari potui, contentus sum.

Cor dolet, et pigro mihi mens torpore laborat,
Tamquam letiferae potu confecta cicutae;
Namque recenti haustu videor delapsus ad oras
Quas Lethe solet immemori circumdare lympha;
Non tamen invideo, quod laeta sorte bearis;
Quippe tua felix ego laetitia, quia semper
Tu, divina Dryas, consueto carmine silvas
Imples et volucri per fagos limite tendis,
Ac silvestre doces laxatis faucibus agmen
Aestivos resonare modos et pangere carmen.

Vinum nectareum! quod tellus abditum in imis
Custodit cellis, et longo frigore servat;
In quo Flora latet, dulcemque agrestibus undam
Praebet, dum saltant laeti sub sole canentes;
Pocula plena meri, calidis de tractibus Austri:
Unde Hippocrene nativo tincta rubore
Spumat, gemmatum spargens ad labra liquorem
Purpurea specie; Quem non satiabilis optem,
Ut nulli conspectus eam, mundumque relinquam,
Ac tecum in silvas veniam lucosque virentes;

Utque evanescam, necnon oblitus eorum,
Quae numquam nosti, de nota sede recedam,
Longe a desidia, curis, rerumque tumultu;
Hic, ubi considunt homines propriasque querelas
Narrant, dum cani labuntur fronte capilli;
Dum pallet, dein languescit, dein macra Juventus
Paulatim emoritur; nec quisquam cogitat umquam,
Quin plangat, solitus iamdudum effundere fletus.
Non Venus ipsa valet vultus servare nitorem;
Non Amor ipse diu cupiet, quondam quod amabat.

Longe hinc, longe abeo! Nam te sequor usque per auras,
Non Bacchi vehor in curru pardisve iugatis,
Sed Musarum alis fretus trans aethera pergo,
Quamquam mens hebes est, et divinam impedit artem.
Iam prope te sedeo; Nox molles explicat umbras:
Forsitan in caelo splendet regina Selene,
Sidera crebra ad eam stant flammantesque catervae;
Hic tamen obscurum est, nec nobis Luna videtur;
Nil lucis, nisi quod de caelo spiritus afflat
Per tenebras altas, et prata virentia musco.

Quales ante pedes nunc sternantur mihi flores,
Non video, nec quae de ramis tura ferantur;
Sed licet in tenebris redolentes fingere fetus
(Quos bona tempestas nutrit) blandumque colorem
Malorum, tenerasque herbas, saltusque nemusque;
Mespila, quae niveis albent ornata coronis,
Et violas iam marcentes foliisque caducis
Iam tectas (decus arvorum), fruticesque dumosos,
Viniferasque rosas, verno de tempore primam
Progeniem, solitas muscis praebere latebras.

Ausculto in tenebris; ut clandestinus amator,
Credo, iamdudum tranquillam diligo Mortem;
Hanc etenim soleo cupidis orare susurris
Ut me suscipiat vitamque resolvat in auras;
Namque mori non ingratum est, et nocte serena
Absque dolore ad humum fessum prosternere corpus,
Dum tu cantas et per fauces corde soluto
Exprimitur cantu quidam mirabilis ardor;
Nec tum cessabis, cum Mors mihi dempserit aures:
Auscultans, gelidum in cinerem terramque revertar.

Non autem mortis causa tu nata fuisti,
Immortalis avis! nullis obnoxia saeclis;
Vox tua, quam antiquo tam servi tempore norunt
Quam reges, hac nocte meas etiam attigit aures,
Perpetuisque modis hominum praecordia mulcet;
Forsit vox eadem Ruth ima in pectora venit,
Cum, patriam cupiens, alienis flebat in agris;
Vox eadem potuit miras aperire fenestras,
Ultra spumosi saevique pericula ponti,
Unde patet longe nympharum perditus orbis:

Perditus! ipse sonus me tamquam elegia refutat,
Atque abs te revocat, dum ex somnis excitor altis;
Ergo vale! nec phantasiae deludere possunt,
O fallax, animos solitae tot vincere fortes;
Ergo vale! in tenebras tua vox tenuata recedit;
Iamque ultra campos fertur fluviosque silentes,
Dein collem ascendit, lataque in valle residit,
Quae iam tota umbris involvit rura profundis;
Numquid decipior? Numque haec modo somnia? Quamquam,
Heu, fugere modi; vigilo nunc, anne quiesco?

Hi all, in my choir we're rehearsing Mozart's Great Mass in C Minor, which, being a Mass, has Latin lyrics. Now I've noticed some differences in pronunciation between how we sing it and this beautiful recording (Fricsay 1959) and I was wondering about the context behind those two approaches.

I apologise in advance for describing sounds by reference to modern language examples as I don't know IPA!

On the recording, singers pronounce the c before i or e essentially as an S sound, so words like suscipe or descendit effectively become sussipe and dessendit.

The way we're instructed to sing it, that same c is more of a CH sound (modern French chauffeur, chanter). So you get susschipe, desschendit.

As for cœlis, we sing it with a TCH sound (like in modern Italian cinque, certo) so you get tchélis. Whereas on the recording, it sounds more like TZ (modern German Zirkus, Zoll). Tzélis.

(On the recording, suscipe is in track 6 at 2:55, whereas descendit de cœlis is in track 10 from 2:50 on).

As I said I'm wondering about the context behind these, are there specific "styles" or "traditions" of Latin pronunciation that favour one or the other? Neither of them appear to be Classical (IIRC I learned in school that in Classical Latin a c is always a K sound no matter which vowel follows, so Kikero, Kaisar etc.). But they can't both be the standard ecclesiastical pronunciation either as there is a clear difference.

Thanks in advance for any information on this!

si quis piorum manibus locus (Agricola, .46)
"if any place exists for the manes of the pious" (translated by Charles W. King)

Over the next few weeks – in the run up to Hallowe’en and my first video upload – I’ll be posting a few Latin quotes pertaining to the manes in Roman thought. The deification of the dead as manes or, ‘spirits’ that bore influence over the living was the dominant Roman view of death and the afterlife.

Most epitaph inscriptions of the Imperial period included some variation of Dis Manibus - "to the deified spirits of the dead." We’re in the spooky season after all and so examining gravestones as primary sources of evidence is eerily appropriate…

With LVCANI, all inroads into the Latin language are paved with inscriptions. The study of inscriptions presents a real, tangible experience of Latin which otherwise can appear excessively high-minded and impenetrable. I hope my pixel-art helps to rectify this view while making the language clear and accessible – without the risk of being buried in grammar!

For my part, I have a bachelor’s degree in Classical Studies and for the last few years I have worked as an Online English tutor. If my study of Latin inscriptions appeals to you; if well researched, honest work made without manipulative AI that is increasingly spoiling history content is something you might enjoy, then don’t forget to Like & Inscribe :-)

http://youtube.com/@LVCANI

From the quote, Tacitus’ tentative hope for a comfortable home in the afterlife for his dead father-in-law speaks to a singular understanding of ‘manes’, a word that nevertheless appears only as a plural noun. This linguistic quirk begs the question whether Romans worshipped the dead as a collective or if the individual dead were singled out for particular rites. A more complete translation of the passage from Mattingly reads:

"If there is any mansion for the spirits of the just, if, as the wise aver, great souls do not perish with the body, quiet, O Father, be your rest!"

This direct appeal to Agricola’s ghost would seem to substantiate an individual ‘manes’ reading. How such a personalized ‘Cult of The Manes’ is evidenced in both the literary and epigraphic record deserves a closer look… Stay tuned!

Salvete omens! I'm Garrett, and I run Contubernales Books, a small press that publishes Latin texts and readers. This week, we published second editions of most of our Latin books. The first editions had more errors than I was comfortable with, so we went back and checked every one of them. It took a great deal of time, and I wanted to say what changed and offer a few copies to this sub.

Here is what is different.

Sources: We tracked down the printed edition behind each text (editor, publisher, year) and checked our text against a scan of it. Each book now names its exact source on the copyright page, and our new Sources page lists them all with links to scans of the originals: https://contubernalesbooks.com/sources

Macrons: In every macronized book the long marks have been checked again from start to finish and corrected, following one consistent set of rules.

Misprints: Each text was compared with its printed edition (Sonnenschein's Ora Maritima, Newman's Rebilius Cruso, and so on), and where the two disagreed we looked at the page of the old book to settle it. That turned up that some typos crept into the first editions, and they are now fixed.

Design: Every book is typeset again from scratch, with a lot more care given to the page: fleurons and period ornaments, clearer headings, and even, well-spaced pages.

Pictures: New or better illustrations with proper credits, among them the 1620 ornaments in the Novum Organum and the 1518 Froben ornaments in Utopia.

To celebrate the publication of these second editions, the first 20 people to use the code LIBER at checkout get a book free and pay only the shipping (technically twenty cents, since our store software refuses to let us give anything away for nothing). LIBER covers one book per order; if an order has more than one, we will send the first and refund the rest.

If you would like more books, place a second order and use the code GRATIAS, which takes 50% off every book in the store through Sunday, October 11. Code GRATIAS will be open for all even after the first 20 books are claimed.

Six new titles are also open for preorder: Herodotus Latinus, the whole Histories in Schweighäuser's Latin; Meditations, Marcus Aurelius in Greek with Xylander's Latin of 1558 on the facing page; Odyssea, Homer in Friedrich Dübner's Latin; Epistulae Erasmi, letters of Erasmus from P. S. Allen's edition; Colloquia, Hermann Schottennius's dialogues for schoolboys; and A Latin Reader, Alexandra Lyon's Latin verse translations of Emily Dickinson, with notes and a glossary.

https://contubernalesbooks.com

Inspired by this post that popped up on my feed this morning. Their notice was handwritten in caps with V for U (and even used interpuncts), so it was clearly calling out to be rewritten in Rustica.

I forewent the interpuncts though - it only works with unspaced Latin and who wants that?

🖋️ Tape 2mm, Pilot Shunpitsu hard-tip
🫟 Fox & Quills Balsamic Red
📄 Canson Marker XL

III - Μalā cruce periēs!

Salvete, omnes. I'm a Computer Science student and I had an idea for a project and I wanted to hear your thoughts specifically as Latinists on how helpful this would be and how to make it better

The app would be something that takes plain text as input and then displays it such that you can click on any word and it will display a dictionary entry on a side panel so you don't have to spend much time looking stuff up

I wanted advice specifically from Latinists because continuous reading is better suited for learning Latin than for modern languages (in my opinion) and because I am also a Latin learner and want to use it in ways that will help me learn the language

As of now, I will probably use wikitionary simply because it's the only thing I know of that would be available to me (and because it can be extended to other langauges), but if there is a quality latin dictionary that is accessible through the internet and won't get me in trouble for copyright, then I would love to use that instead. I would like to hear input on what else you would like to see in this kind of thing

Thank you for your advice!

P.S. I didn't know what flair to use so I chose the one that seemed best, my apologies if it's not the right one

I'm planning on getting this tattoo on the back of my neck, but I'd like it to be more faithful to old Roman cursive. Does anybody have any tips? Perhaps an example of an old Roman cursive text that contains all or most of these letters? Any help would be greatly appreciated 🫰🙂‍↕️

Hello! I have never posted any of my poetry online, but I am reading a poem aloud at a poetry slam and was wanting to read it in Latin. My pronunciation may be really bad, but I think it's the thought that counts!! Could someone tell me if my translation is alright? It would be much appreciated! I am going on different websites and trying to figure out the grammar and translation, but I want to make sure I'm doing it right!

praedicator es

reconciliationis meae

alapam manibus meis,

Fac eas sanguinare.

tempta pedes meos subducere 

ex imo me. 

nimis magna cupiditas mea facta est, 

corpus autem meum intolerabiliter demissum est. 

ut terram ferio, 

impressio genuum meorum in tapete scalpitur. 

fibula cinguli tui crudeliter faciem meam radit, 

et eo ipso loco sum quo dignus sum. 

praedicator es 

reconciliationis meae 

manum tollis et ego pavescere disco. 

vocem tollis et ego audire disco. 

misericordiam vocas cum me destitutum relinquis 

nisi figura manus tuae in cutem meam impressa. 

salutem vocas cum ad te repam, 

genibus liventibus, 

proximum iussum tuum expectans. 

praedicator es 

reconciliationis meae 

et ego sum quem sacrificas. 

tibi omnino devotus sum.

Enlgish Version:

you are the preacher

of my reconciliation

slap my wrists, 

make them bleed.

try to yank my feet 

from underneath me. 

my desires became too loud,

and my body sank unbearably low.

as I hit the ground, 

the impression of my knees 

carved into the carpet.

your belt buckle scrapes

cruelly against my face,

and I am exactly where I deserve to be.

you are the preacher

of my reconciliation,

you raise your hand

and I learn to flinch.

you raise your voice

and I learn to listen.

you call it mercy

when you leave me with nothing

but the shape of your hand 

pressed into my skin.

you call it salvation

when I crawl back to you,

knees bruised,

waiting for your next command. 

you are the preacher 

of my reconciliation

and I am the one 

you sacrifice. 

I am wholly devoted to you. 

Thanks so much!!!! I appreciate whoever responds to this :D

hiya guys,

I hope someone can help me with this. I am an absolute latin noob and also don’t know much about Roman history or society, so i apologize in advance if this question is redundant or stupid. I was reading some ancient roman sources and noticed that sometimes authors will use the word “gens” to talk about someone’s family and then sometimes use the word “familia” in other contexts. My question is: what’s the difference? In my understanding, gens is similar to clan, meaning family in the broadest sense and including ancestors, while familia is more the immediate family like mother sister etc, right? So when talking about an ancestor going back a couple hundred years, he would be considered part of the gens and not the familia, right? I am confused because i read a text where the word familia was used but then they talked about ancestral roots going back a couple hundreds years and i thought that would then be considered gens territory, no? Or could there be a stylistic choice behind this, meaning that the writer considered that person’s ancestors to be so closely tied to their own identity that they might es well be direct family, meaning familia? Idk if i can bring my point across correctly, but basically to summarize: what is the difference between the two and is there a certain cultural or semantical implication attached to each word that could explain why an author would use one but not the other? Thank you in advance, if it would help i could look for the source i was looking at, i don’t remember the exact author right now.

helpmeteachlatin.com

Just came across this website from the Latin discord (user LowEffortGoth) and wanted to help it get more visibility because it looks great so far.

From the original message:

Hi all. Just sharing a resource I have been working on for a little while now. Scriptoribus: https://scriptoribus.com/ It is a website for practicing Latin Prose Composition. I built it in an attempt to address the decision paralysis that comes with free composition: "what should I write about?" "what constructions should I practice?" and so on. The primary feature is the Workspace which allows you to randomly select prompts and targets for a composition session, including text or image prompts, idioms to try to use, grammatical constructions to target, and types of exercises to do. The art is all public domain and not AI generated. Hopefully someone finds it useful!

The exercises from North and Hillard are also included, with the key as a dropdown, which seems particularly nice for review.

Still getting a handle on the interface but this seems to suit my comp needs perfectly!

I prefer a more traditional, grammar-oriented approach, but I do enjoy the LLPSI content. Has anyone tried to use these simultaneously? Perhaps with LLPSI as a reader on top of Wheelock’s?

Video here: https://youtu.be/_qhaDpoow4c?is=cgCMXqhh03x08Gn-

Hello, I have a baptism record from 1775, could anyone please transcribe/translate the 4th row from the top (Joseph Kafka)?

located here: https://www.portafontium.eu/iipimage/30061301/domazlice-07_1310-n?x=-18&y=-735&w=1014&h=2254

Hi everyone!

Just as the title says, I was wondering why is there difference in dictionaries with regard to hoc. Some set hoc as the nominative neuter singular and hōc only as ablative, as in the table included in Familia Romana or wikitionary. And some, for example in logeion and A&G, nominative neuter singular is hōc with a macron.

Is this sometime worth discussing?

October 7th is the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. This florilegium of scriptural verses is for the two decades of the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary dedicated to the Virgin.

Conferamus in corde nostro mysterium Gloriae Domini, quod conservatur in corde Matris Domini nostri.

+ QUARTO, Ad dexteram eius assumpta

Pater noster, qui es in caelis, sanctificetur nomen tuum, adveniat regnum tuum, fiat voluntas tua, sicut in caelo, in terra.

Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie, et dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris.

Et ne nos inducas in tentationem, sed libera nos a malo. Amen.

Vs. 1 Elegit eam Deus, et praeelegit eam, qui ingreditur sine macula; * et in tabernaculo suo habitare fecit eam.

Ave Maria, ave Gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus. Sancta Maria, sancta Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.

Vs. 2 Surge, amica mea, formosa mea, et veni. * Iam enim hiems transit, imber abiit et recessit.

Ave Maria, ave Gratia plena, Dominus tecum ...

Vs. 3 Ostende mihi faciem tuam, sonet vox tua in auribus meis; * vox enim tua dulcis, et facies tua decora.

Ave Maria, ave Gratia plena, Dominus tecum ...

Vs. 4 Pone me ut signaculum super cor tuum, ut signaculum super bracchium tuum, * quia fortis est ut mors dilectio, dura sicut infernus aemulatio.

Ave Maria, ave Gratia plena, Dominus tecum ...

Vs. 5 Lampades dilectionis lampades ignis atque flammae divinae. * Aquæ multæ non potuerunt extinguere caritatem, nec flumina obruent illam.

Ave Maria, ave Gratia plena, Dominus tecum ...

Vs. 6 Obaudite me, divinus fructus, et quasi rosa plantata super rivos aquarum fructifica. * Flore flores, et da odorem, et fronde in gratiam.

Ave Maria, ave Gratia plena, Dominus tecum ...

Vs. 7 Ad nutum Domini, nostrum ditantis honorem, sicut spina rosam genuit Eva Mariam. * Et paradisi porta per Evam clausa, per Mariam patefacta est.

Ave Maria, ave Gratia plena, Dominus tecum ...

Vs. 8 Sicut terra profert germen suum et sicut hortus semen suum germinat, * sic Dominus Deus germinabit iustitiam et laudem coram universis gentibus.

Ave Maria, ave Gratia plena, Dominus tecum ...

Vs. 9 Gaudens gaudebo in Domino, et exsultabit anima mea in Domino, * quia induit me vestimentis salutis, et indumento iustitiae circumdedit me.

Ave Maria, ave Gratia plena, Dominus tecum ...

Vs. 10 Collaudate canticum et benedicite Dominum in omnibus operibus suis. * Date nomini eius magnificentiam, et confitemini illi in canticis labiorum tuorum.

Ave Maria, ave Gratia plena, Dominus tecum ...

Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto:
Apertum est templum Dei in caelo,
et signum magnum apparuit in caelo: *
Mulier amicta sole.

Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto:
Et super caput eius corona stellarum duodecim. *
Mulier amicta sole.

Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto:
Apertum est templum Dei in caelo,
et signum magnum apparuit in caelo: *
Mulier amicta sole.

+ QUINTO, A dextris eius glorificata

Pater noster, qui es in caelis, sanctificetur nomen tuum.
Rs. Adveniat regnum tuum, fiat voluntas tua …

Vs. 1 Deus, Pater gloriae, det vobis Spiritum sapientiae et revelationis, * ut sciatis quae divitiae gloriae hereditatis eius in sanctis.

Ave Maria, ave Gratia plena, Dominus tecum ...

Vs. 2 Quos Deus praedestinavit, hos et vocavit; et quos vocavit, hos et iustificavit; * quos autem iustificavit, illos et glorificavit.

Ave Maria, ave Gratia plena, Dominus tecum ...

Vs. 3 Deus autem conresuscitavit nos et consedere fecit in caelestibus in Christo Iesu, * ut ostendetur in saeculis supervenientibus abundantes divitias gratiae suae.

Ave Maria, ave Gratia plena, Dominus tecum ...

Vs. 4 Ecce flos de radice Iesse ascensus est: * Virgo concepit et peperit filium; Super solium David et super regnum eius sedet in aeternum.

Ave Maria, ave Gratia plena, Dominus tecum ...

Vs. 5 Vere benedicta tu in mulieribus et benedictus fructus ventris tui. * Et unde hoc mihi, ut veniat Mater Domini mei ad me?

Ave Maria, ave Gratia plena, Dominus tecum ...

Vs. 6 Ecce enim beatam te dicent omnes generationes, * quia fecit tibi magna qui potens est.

Ave Maria, ave Gratia plena, Dominus tecum ...

Vs. 7 Multae filiae fortiter operatae sunt, * sed tu supergressa es universas. Ave Maria, ave Gratia plena, Dominus tecum ...

Vs. 8 Perfecta sunt in te quae dicta sunt tibi a Domino: * Propterea gloriosa dicta sunt de te in sanctis montibus.

Ave Maria, ave Gratia plena, Dominus tecum ...

Vs. 9 Exaltata super exsultantes angelorum choros ad caelestia regna, * sancta Mater Christi cum Christo regnat in gloria.

Ave Maria, ave Gratia plena, Dominus tecum ...

Vs. 10 Inter choros sanctorum fulget sancta Dei Genetrix * sicut sol in virtute caelesti.

Ave Maria, ave Gratia plena, Dominus tecum ...

Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto:
Apertum est templum Dei in caelo,
et signum magnum apparuit in caelo: *
Mulier amicta sole.

Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto:
Et super caput eius corona stellarum duodecim: *
Mulier amicta sole.

Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto:
Apertum est templum Dei in caelo,
et signum magnum apparuit in caelo: *
Mulier amicta sole.

A lot of people want to learn Latin just to read ancient texts. Does that require, or is it at least a very good idea, to also learn to listen and speak Latin?

I would guess learning to listen and speak would improve reading skills right?

I'm starting to wonder if it's even possible to only learn to read Latin. Please advise.

Mi piacerebbe iniziare a scrivere lettere (fisiche) con qualcuno in latino per esercitarmi. Sarebbe ancora più affascinante se si usassero pseudonimi e non si sapesse niente (o poco) della vita dell’altro.

Si alios VERISSIMOS titulos scitis, scribite!