Questions tagged [passage-request]
The passage-request tag has no usage guidance.
86
questions
13
votes
1
answer
1k
views
What did Horace say about combining Latin and Greek roots?
In English, it's common to make technical terms by combining Latin and Greek morphemes, like "television" (as opposed to "telescopy" or "remotovision"). It seems the ...
- 69k
0
votes
0
answers
125
views
A passage about reassuring your loved one about conceding too easily [closed]
I remember reading a while ago a poem/epigram in which the author reassures his lover not to worry about conceding herself too easily to him, but unfortunately no source was indicated and I made the ...
- 17
10
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Did the Romans have anything artificial? Which words did they use to describe it?
I am looking for a word or set of words to describe artificial items or materials.
Maybe my shoes are made of artificial leather instead of the real thing, or maybe a crown is made of fake gold.
What ...
- 116k
2
votes
1
answer
104
views
Looking for quote from Seneca Moral Letters
Hopefully I'm not doing much violence to the text/intention or mixing various passages, but in Seneca's Moral Letters (100% there and 95% in a letter number < 100) there is a passage where he says (...
- 11.7k
8
votes
1
answer
954
views
"Inter canem et lupum" in a Latin text?
A search for infra horam vespertinam, inter canem et lupum finds lots of blog posts (and dictionaries!) citing this Latin proverb as the ancestor of French entre chien et loup. (Meaning the evening, ...
- 187
4
votes
0
answers
80
views
Usage of impersonal passive
Finding nice impersonal passive example from Seneca (Moral Letters 30): ubi plurimis locis laxari coepit [navis?] et cedere, succurri non potest navigio dehiscenti, made me ask two things:
Could we ...
- 11.7k
5
votes
1
answer
240
views
encrypt / to hide a message in Latin
What was the verb(s) the Romans used when the hide/encrypt a message in another text (and also the antonym "to decipher")? After consulting Döderlein's Hand-book of Latin Synonymes (Celare), ...
- 11.7k
8
votes
1
answer
113
views
Stacking many infinitives
Consider the sentence: Dixit se velle posse audere venire.
("He said that he wants to be able to dare to come.")
This has a stack of four infinitives.
In theory we might be able to stack as ...
- 116k
5
votes
1
answer
274
views
Did the Romans have an idiom or saying similar to "one thing leads to another"?
Did any writers of antiquity use a saying or phrase that has an equivalent meaning to "one thing leads to another" in English? I'm looking for the more general meaning in that one action ...
- 8,732
5
votes
2
answers
153
views
What are some quotations of Romans longing for the "good 'ole days"?
In Wheelock's Latin there is an edited excerpt of Livy from Ab Urbe Conditā:
Populus Rōmānus magnōs animōs et paucās culpās habēbat. Dē officiīs nostrīs cōgitābāmus et glōriam bellī semper laudābāmus....
- 8,732
10
votes
0
answers
201
views
Did the Romans walk their dogs?
Here is a mosaic from Pompeii showing a Roman dog in a leash:
(Image from Wikipedia.)
Other similar pictures of mosaics are easy to find online, so I am confident that dog leashes were a well known ...
- 116k
7
votes
1
answer
422
views
What adjectives did the Romans use to describe skin color?
The Romans surely met peoples of different skin color in their interactions between Gauls and Africans and many others.
I assume that there were clear color differences back then and that the Romans ...
- 116k
3
votes
1
answer
96
views
How the 'conflict' between heart/feelings and the "head" was described in the classical period
It sometimes happens to us, living beings of this age that we are, that we experience some kind of inner conflict; a conflict between what seems to our intellect or reason(*) and the feeling or "...
- 11.7k
7
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Did the Romans use 'animus' and 'anima' together?
The words animus and anima are pretty close to each other, and their difference has been explored on this site before.
In order to understand their nuances in classical Latin I would like to see an ...
- 116k
15
votes
1
answer
409
views
Roman wedding congratulations
How did the Romans congratulate a couple on their wedding day?
The concepts of wedding and marriage were not quite what they are now back then, but I assume that celebrations and congratulations were ...
- 116k
5
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Did Plato describe man as "a being in search of meaning"?
I happened upon this Quora question, in which the quote "man, a being in search of meaning" is ascribed to Plato.
Did Plato write this and if so, where? Obviously there are other Platonic ...
- 31.5k
8
votes
1
answer
98
views
How was the Concept of Price-Wage Inflation Expressed in the Roman World?
Inflation bedevils capitalist economies. Despite the power of Rome, the low-wage slave-economy, and a single currency (quite an achievement), the Roman World suffered from inflation. This happened ...
- 9,346
12
votes
1
answer
2k
views
How did the Romans congratulate a new father?
One of our users recently became a father and of course congratulations are in order.
How did the Romans do that?
More specifically, are there any attested congratulations to a new father in the ...
- 116k
11
votes
1
answer
5k
views
Is "Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end" correctly attributed to Seneca (the younger)?
The quote is a fairly well know lyric in the 1998 song Closing Time by Semisonic. In the Wikipedia entry for the song, it claims "The song ends with a quote attributed to Roman Stoic philosopher ...
- 211
12
votes
1
answer
533
views
Numbering of persons
It is conventional to number the three persons of Latin and Greek and many other languages so that the first person is the speaker, the second one is the listener, and the third one is anyone else.
...
- 116k
9
votes
1
answer
135
views
Is there a pre-Christian Roman story of "coming to faith"?
Is there a story in the Roman literature of someone previously not believing in the traditional Roman gods or a specific deity within their pantheon but later, after a vision or another experience, ...
- 116k
7
votes
1
answer
333
views
What did the Romans think about new technology?
Are there any attested texts where a Roman comments on some new technology?
The modern world sees a constant flux of them, but technological advancement was slower in antiquity and I do not recall ...
- 116k
8
votes
2
answers
264
views
Is the Abrahamic god ever named in Classical-era Latin or Greek?
As far as I'm aware, the Septuagint, New Testament, and Vulgata never directly transcribe the Tetragrammaton (יהוה) into Greek or Latin: they substitute in words like κύριος/dominus "lord" or θεός/...
- 69k
6
votes
1
answer
262
views
finding a Latin quote
I am reading the book "6/5" by Alexandre Laumonier, in French about high-frequency trading in electronic financial markets (bear with me). Near the end of "5", he says
Pour autant, comme l'écrivit ...
21
votes
3
answers
4k
views
Historicity doubted by Romans
The Roman historians seem happy to mix history with myth with no discussion on the reliability of one's sources — or even a mention of the sources in the first place.
I would like to imagine ...
- 116k
4
votes
1
answer
124
views
Written evidence of a ten-month calendar
There is speculation that prior to the republic Roman calendar there was an earlier calendar instated by Romulus and consisting of ten months.
I do not want to discuss here whether Romulus existed and ...
- 116k
5
votes
1
answer
3k
views
What is the origin of "Wonder begets wisdom?"
Socrates famously said, "Wonder begets wisdom."
Where is this passage from and what is the full text translation?
There seems to be some great missing context...
- 211
4
votes
0
answers
160
views
Is Hades ever associated with iron?
Traditionally, the Greek and Roman god of the dead is associated with gold and silver, since he controls everything under the earth: he has epithets like Plūtōn "the [god] of riches" and Dīs Pater "...
- 69k
3
votes
1
answer
171
views
Branches of Roman military in Latin
The military force of a country is often divided in branches such as an army, a navy, and an air force.
There are many other branches out there, but the point is that I am looking for a division of ...
- 116k
12
votes
1
answer
318
views
Do any Latin authors mention other Italic languages?
By the power of modern linguistics, quite a lot is known about the early history of Latin: for quite a while it coexisted with close relatives like Oscan, Umbrian, and Faliscan, as well as the ...
- 69k
2
votes
1
answer
174
views
A poem about looking back without regret
There's an adage I've heard about grief: look back and be happy about the time you had, rather than regret what might have been.
The Roman lyricists seem to have poems for every possible aspect of ...
- 69k
2
votes
1
answer
365
views
Latin original for "Would you have a great empire?" saying, by Publilius Syrus
Can someone provide the original Latin translation for Publilius Syrus's famous axiom, "Would you have a great empire? Rule over yourself." I have searched online and not been able to find it in Latin....
- 21
9
votes
1
answer
216
views
Are there Roman accounts of Easter?
Now that it is Easter time, I wonder whether the Romans wrote about Easter.
I am looking for non-Christian accounts in Latin describing the events of Jesus's death and subsequent resurrection.
I ...
- 116k
5
votes
1
answer
192
views
Do the Romans write about "converting" foreign gods?
I've heard stories of Roman legions preparing for a battle by praying to the enemies' gods, offering them worship back in Rome if they'll switch sides and help the Romans win. This was one of the ways ...
- 69k
3
votes
1
answer
199
views
Did the Romans mention any excavations?
The Romans wrote about history and recognized monuments from past eras both at home and abroad.
But it occurs to me that I have never heard of them digging anything up — I fail to recall ...
- 116k
4
votes
2
answers
357
views
Did the Greeks or Romans have future fiction?
Did the Greeks or Romans have any literature describing events in the future?
The modern era has produced a number of books and movies concerning a future society with flying cars or other ...
- 116k
5
votes
1
answer
593
views
Do we ever see "in saeculo saeculorum"?
Recently, luchonacho asked about the phrase in saecula saeculōrum: literally, "into the lifetimes of the lifetimes". It's kind of a weird phrase, for multiple reasons.
However, I'd always thought the ...
- 69k
7
votes
1
answer
134
views
Roman adage: The best death
There is a very famous quotation from one of the Roman authors to the effect that the best death is the one for which you can choose the time, and the second best is the one that comes unexpected. For ...
- 18k
2
votes
1
answer
104
views
Are there Classical attestations of specifically "Etruscan" deities?
As the Roman Empire expanded, the state religion incorporated new deities and practices from all over the world: Bacchus, for example, was borrowed from the Greeks, while Isis came from Egypt, and ...
- 69k
7
votes
1
answer
411
views
What did the Romans think about female leadership?
Women seem to be absent from leading roles in Roman politics.
However, the Romans were in interaction with other nations with female leaders, both historically (e.g. Cleopatra of Egypt) and mythically ...
- 116k
5
votes
0
answers
60
views
Seeking a Classical quote for an epigraph
I'm editing a short piece of writing set in early Imperial Rome, and seeking a Classical quotation to use as an epigraph.
The piece involves a woman whose arms and legs are twisted from birth, ...
- 69k
7
votes
2
answers
2k
views
A classical Latin phrase for "all or nothing"
Is there a saying in classical Latin similar to "all or nothing"?
I am aware of aut Caesar aut nihil, and that would be fine if it was classical.
In most cases the era of origin is irrelevant, but I ...
- 116k
5
votes
2
answers
398
views
How did dogs and wolves compare in the Roman mind?
The Romans knew both dogs and wolves.
But how similar and how dissimilar did they think they were, as indicated by their literature?
I am looking for an understanding about Roman views on dogs and ...
- 116k
7
votes
6
answers
328
views
Coincidental similarities between Latin and other ancient languages?
There are cases where a word in another language means something else in another one.
I do not mean cognates or loan words having close but not identical meanings, but two words in different languages ...
- 116k
5
votes
1
answer
561
views
A quote for a relieving loss of a loved one
Is there a poem or other passage of classical Latin about the following sentiment?
I prefer poetry, but good hits in prose are also welcome.
It need not — and indeed should not — be the ...
- 116k
5
votes
2
answers
131
views
Which verb do insects fly with?
Having read a question (and answer) about flies flying, I started to wonder whether flies would really fly with the verb volare.
I had always somehow imagined that volare referred to more elegant and ...
- 116k
9
votes
1
answer
268
views
Garden path sentences in classical Latin
A garden path sentence is a sentence that leads the reader astray and forces them to reanalyze.
The obvious first interpretation when one starts reading is a red herring and it comes clear that the ...
- 116k
9
votes
1
answer
180
views
When was a pair of Greek and Roman gods first identified?
There is a canonical correspondence between some Greek and Roman gods and goddesses, for example Ares and Mars.
However, these two were originally different deities: Ares represented rage in war and ...
- 116k
10
votes
3
answers
291
views
Did the ancients write that their sculpture is painted?
I have the impression that for a long time scholars thought that ancient Greek and Roman sculpture was unpainted, and marble statues would be wholly white, but the modern consensus is that sculpture ...
- 116k
7
votes
1
answer
108
views
Ancient accounts of traffic
Are there accounts of traffic in the ancient world written in Latin?
By traffic I mean the behaviour of various vehicles1 on roads and in intersections, not masses of pedestrians.
If there are ...
- 116k