Aestiva Romae Latinitas

Sine Dubio, Tempus Fugit (Without a Doubt, Time Flies)

It's hard to believe that my summer in Rome is more than half over. This past Monday marked the first day of the second half of school (and my stay). I'm really loving it and learning tons, but I'm beginning to fatigue a bit. I am in awe of Reggie's energy; while many of his students (most of whom are less than half his age) are grumbling about being tired or are skipping classes to rest, he just keeps going. We were given Sunday off...our FIRST AND ONLY day off for the whole course. I'm ashamed to say that I didn't go anywhere or do anything. I sat in my apartment and read a book. It was very relaxing, however, and I enjoyed it quite a bit.

Parum Cognitionis Res Periculosa Est (Too Little Knowledge is a Dangerous Thing)

The book I read was a "freebie" that a parent left on the table in the faculty room at school. It was a fast read, moderately enjoyable, quite mindless. The book, Bill Fitzhugh's _The Organ Grinders_, is a satirical novel about medical biotechnology and big business. In his preface, Fitzhugh talks about all of the experts and organizations that he consulted in order to get correct facts and figures for his book. He researched figures and technologies for: world population, solid waste disposal, vivisection, air and water pollution, male hormone therapy, organ transplants, and industrial espionage in the biotechnology industry. According to Fitzhugh, "I obtained excellent information from many experts." Unfortunately, he didn't bother to consult with a first-year high school Latin student. Had he done so, he might not have butchered what should have been extremely simple Latin.

In the book, a radical environmentalist/animal-rights person takes revenge on the "bad guys," i.e. solid waste disposal executives who cut secret illegal deals, fur manufacturers, people involved in animal experimentation, etc. In each case, the vigilante leaves a note that reads: "Terra Tuebor". Near the end of the book, the reader learns that this is supposed to mean "I will protect the earth." In actuality, it means (at best) something like "I will protect by using the earth," not quite the same thing. It seems as though the author looked up "earth" in a Latin dictionary and found "terra" and then just used that word unchanged. What he should have done is changed it to "terram" in order to show that it is the direct object. I thought it was quite appropriate that I read this while on this trip. I got a good laugh from it.

Another one I found while here in Rome was an opinion article titled "E pluribus...pluribus?" - a take on "E pluribus unum." The writer was discussing the lack of unitty in America, but appears to have figured that "pluribus" means "many" (which it does, but is by its form it would be the object of a preposition. He should have written "E pluribus...plures."

It's fun being able to get a little laugh from such things. Reggie tells us little Latin jokes and always points out that "without knowing Latin...NOTHING! However, as my father always told me (and as I always tell my students): small things please small minds (res parvae placent mentibus parvis).

Follis Pedius (Football, that is, Soccer)

It has been a lot of fun being in Italy during the World Cup, especially since Italy is now in the final game. What a difference there is between Europeans and Americans. In America, the games aren't even broadcast on network TV. (One of my colleague's husband purchased a THIRD satelite dish so he could watch all the games.) Here, the games are shown everywhere - every bar and most restaurants show the games. TVs are placed so that people standing in the streets can watch. I can see the games on the TV in my apartment. People have little handheld TVs on which they watch the games in piazzas and parking lots. Lately, giant screens have been set up in public areas so that huge groups of people can watch together. This Sunday, the final game will be shown on an enormous screen at the Circus Maximus. I intend to go there and watch the game with about twenty or thirty thousand other people. As you might imagine, the Italians go absolutely nuts when they win a game. The roads fill up with cars and scooters beeping madly and flying the Italian flag. It's great, and I'm looking forward to the final game against France. Go Italia!

St. Thomas Aquinas Excursion

We left the train station at 7:25, heading to Roccasecca, the birthplace of Thomas Aquinas. A few minutes after leaving the station, we passed some of the ruins of the Aqua Claudia, which were beautiful. I am amazed to think that these arches have been standing for 2000 years. Amazing!

We arrived at Roccasecca, and then boarded two very small, very cramped minibuses, which transported us to Castello dei Conti D'Aquino (the Castle of the Count of Aquino - aka St. Thomas' dad's castle). There we read about Thomas' childhood. Reggie's favorite part tells about how baby Thomas found a scrap of paper with "Ave Maria" on it and he would cry whenever it was taken away from him. After reading and singing a bit, we explored the chapel and the castle ruins. Very nice.






Here is chanting:








At the end of the day, we went to the train station where we cheered the passing trains (Reggie is a huge train buff) as we waited for our own.