Tag Archives: Latin

Thrush to Judgement

I’ve been rereading Petronius’ Satyricon, to take my mind off the imminent death of democracy in America. It’s not working that well, because Trimalchio (the wealthy boor who is the anti-protagonist of his own episode in the novel) keeps reminding … Continue reading

Posted in ancient art, art, books, language, politics, television, words | Tagged , | Comments Off on Thrush to Judgement

Actis Temporibus

For a few years I’ve had a Latin version of “Auld Lang Syne” on my Latin-for-the-holidays handout, but I’ve never been crazy about it. For one thing, it erases the repetitions in the original. For another, references to drinking have … Continue reading

Posted in academia, Adventures in the Public Domain, Christmas, language, music, writing | Tagged , | Comments Off on Actis Temporibus

Eldritch Lore of Lightning, Stars, and Magic

On Facebook, Michael Swanwick mentioned a historical (or maybe apocryphal) episode when the Pope invited Etruscan seers to use lightning magic to defend Rome against Alaric and his Ostrogoths. It’s a pretty good story, whether or not it’s actually history. … Continue reading

Posted in academia, Adventures in the Public Domain, astronomy, books, fantasy, history, language, magic, Myth & Legend, Roman history, Rome, science, sff, social media, sword-and-sorcery | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Eldritch Lore of Lightning, Stars, and Magic

Words on the Wing

I was reading the Eddas today, which is what Tolkien would probably be doing on Re(re)ading Tolkien Day, and I was struck by a pair of birdy lines: Ǫrn mun hlakka,  slítr nái niðfǫlr. —Vǫluspá (quoted in Snorri, Gylfaginning 50) … Continue reading

Posted in Myth & Legend, words | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Words on the Wing

Swords in the Mistletoe

I was reading Snorri’s Edda today, trying to sort out the story-differences between Snorri’s version and the poems in the Elder Edda. For instance, the famous story where Thor goes fishing and catches Jormungandir, Midgard’s Serpent, plays out differently in … Continue reading

Posted in books, language, Myth & Legend, words | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Swords in the Mistletoe

Goa, Going, Gone

I was scrolling through an electronic edition of a venerable Latin dictionary, which is a totally normal thing to do, and I was brought up short by the entry for superstitio: “excessive fear of the goas; unreasonable religious belief.” I … Continue reading

Posted in fantasy, language, Morlock, Myth & Legend, Rome, sword-and-sorcery, Typo of the Day, words | Tagged | Comments Off on Goa, Going, Gone

Get the Hnakkr!

I’m rereading Snorri’s Edda and Tacitus’ Historiae in tandem, and it’s an interesting experience. With Snorri, this involves a lot of adventures in the dictionary, as the vocabulary of Old Icelandic is definitely less familiar to me than the vocabulary … Continue reading

Posted in fantasy, Myth & Legend, sff, words | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Get the Hnakkr!

Let’s Give Vespasian a Great Big Hand

Prandente eo quondam canis extrarius e trivio manum humanam intulit mensaeque subiecit. —Suetonius, Divus Vespasianus 5.4 “Once, while he was having lunch, a stray dog carried in a human hand  from the crossroads and threw it under his table.” This is one of the … Continue reading

Posted in ancient art, dogs, Rome | Tagged | Comments Off on Let’s Give Vespasian a Great Big Hand

IO, SATURNALIA!

It’s a Saturnalia on Saturday! It must be extra potent.

Posted in Chaos | Tagged | Comments Off on IO, SATURNALIA!

It Can Only Get Better from Here: “Alias Smith and Jones” (pilot)

Everything Is Better With Latin!™, and alias is Latin for “elsewhere”. At least the pilot of Alias Smith and Jones has that going for it. That and the telegenic qualities of the leads are about the only thing in this … Continue reading

Posted in Alias Smith and Jones, television | Tagged , , | Comments Off on It Can Only Get Better from Here: “Alias Smith and Jones” (pilot)