Tag Archives: Latin

Garum + Chili = ?

Posted on January 11, 2025 by JE

I was trying to figure out why you couldn’t say this in Latin, then thought, “Well, it could only improve garum”, and finally realized: oh, they mean cocina latina. Some of these keywords for Bluesky feeds are deeply ambiguous. (“Conan” … Continue reading →

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Hamlet Is…

Posted on January 11, 2025 by JE

“Hamlet isn’t just Hamlet. Oh no, no, no–oh, no. Hamlet is me. Hamlet is Bosnia. Hamlet is this desk. Hamlet is the air. Hamlet is my grandmother. “ —A Midwinter’s Tale (1995) This is really just a test to see … Continue reading →

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Thrush to Judgement

Posted on July 3, 2024 by JE

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 →

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Actis Temporibus

Posted on January 1, 2024 by JE

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 →

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Eldritch Lore of Lightning, Stars, and Magic

Posted on August 10, 2023 by JE

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 →

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Words on the Wing

Posted on March 25, 2023 by JE

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 →

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Swords in the Mistletoe

Posted on March 7, 2023 by JE

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 →

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Goa, Going, Gone

Posted on January 31, 2023 by JE

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 →

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Get the Hnakkr!

Posted on January 2, 2023 by JE

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 →

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Let’s Give Vespasian a Great Big Hand

Posted on January 1, 2023 by JE

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 →

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