A diary of a well busted leg.

[Dod101]

I think that stevensfo has illustrated the benefits of Latin. It was not offered at my school which I always think was a shame because surely it is part of a rounded education. Like all subjects of course it depends on how it is taught, whether the subject be History, French or maths. There is no doubt that some have a natural talent for a particular subject and then it does not really how bad the teaching is.

Not sure this has a lot to do with Snorvey and his busted leg mind you.

Dod

[monabri]

Though it has to be said, some of those who did latin can be pretty insufferable (mentioning no Prime Ministers). And I suspect that you might have to keep quiet amongst your peers about such effete interests in many schools - even those that offer it as a subject!

I'll mention that to my wife who did a degree in Latin....no, on second thoughts...

[bungeejumper]

During the 1960s, I almost joined the 'bring back Latin as an international language' society. Snag was Latin words for more recent inventions had to be invented: life had changed since the era of the omnibus.

I think you'll find that Icelandic is still run that way. My old linguistics prof told us that a modern Icelander can pick up a thousand year old saga and read it easily, because changes have not been tolerated. And that when a new invention comes along, or a new concept, the national language committee (or whatever) convenes to decide on a suitably tenth-century sounding word. (More detail at https://qz.com/1632990/iceland-is-inven ... ch-future/ , if you're interested.)

Mind you, the French used to do very much the same. Which is why they have ordinateur for a computer and télécopieur for a fax. And (until recently) appareil photo for a camera.

To this day, whenever I see a sign 'exit' I say to myself he goes out.

And 'brexit' means "bloody hell, it's going to be cold out there".

BJ

[bungeejumper]

To this day, whenever I see a sign 'exit' I say to myself he goes out.

To this day, when I see "entrance" over the door of a shop, it's a disappointment to reflect that it probably won't.

BJ

[tjh290633]

Latin syllabus must have changed since my day. Caesar's "De Bello Gallico" was our required reading.

Omnia Gallia in tres partes divisa est

Forever imprinted on my mind. Along with the odd irregular verb - fero, ferre, tuli, latum - for which I consulted the Latin Dictionary to make sure I was right (I wasn't - I had ferro).

TJH

[bungeejumper]

Latin syllabus must have changed since my day. Caesar's "De Bello Gallico" was our required reading.

Omnia Gallia in tres partes divisa est

Forever imprinted on my mind.

All together now: blum blum blum, blee blo blo, cow's eye, cow's eye, cow's @rse, caesar sic in omnibus. Agree with Steve about the rude bits in Catullus, except that we'd have been beaten black and blue if we'd ever spelt his name with a capital letter. Oh, how we loved our Latin lessons, not. And I was one of the ones who were better at it!

BJ

[genou]

Latin syllabus must have changed since my day. Caesar's "De Bello Gallico" was our required reading.

Omnia Gallia in tres partes divisa est

Forever imprinted on my mind.

TJH

But but but - Gallia est omnia divisa in partes tres

[tjh290633]

Latin syllabus must have changed since my day. Caesar's "De Bello Gallico" was our required reading.

Omnia Gallia in tres partes divisa est

Forever imprinted on my mind.

TJH

But but but - Gallia est omnia divisa in partes tres

That must be a modern translation to suit young people. A bit like modern versions of the Book of Common Prayer.

From http://www.loyalbooks.com/book/Commenta ... Gallic-War

Commentarii de Bello Gallico (English: Commentaries on the Gallic War) is Julius Caesar's firsthand account of the Gallic Wars, written as a third-person narrative. In it Caesar describes the battles and intrigues that took place in the nine years he spent fighting local armies in Gaul that opposed Roman domination.

The work has been a mainstay in the teaching of Latin to schoolchildren, its simple, direct prose lending itself to that purpose. It begins with the frequently quoted phrase "Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres", sometimes quoted as "Omnia Gallia in tres partes divisa est", meaning "All Gaul is divided into three parts".

When I was taught Latin the verb always came last. The book did date from the 1930s, and was complemented by Kennedy's Shorter Latin primer, alternatively "Shortbread eating primer" as some earlier user had changed the title.

TJH

[UncleEbenezer]

The work has been a mainstay in the teaching of Latin to schoolchildren, its simple, direct prose lending itself to that purpose. It begins with the frequently quoted phrase "Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres", sometimes quoted as "Omnia Gallia in tres partes divisa est", meaning "All Gaul is divided into three parts".

When I was taught Latin the verb always came last. The book did date from the 1930s, and was complemented by Kennedy's Shorter Latin primer, alternatively "Shortbread eating primer" as some earlier user had changed the title.

TJH

What? Are you saying that fabled Latin grammar is really just as loose as English?

FWIW, reading that phrase, the second word order you cite above sits a little more naturally with my uneducated notions of grammar. But which was the original?

ObTopic: Crus fractum Snorvey. Altera res speranda.

[88V8]

[When I was taught Latin the verb always came last.

So Gaul.. modern German... which came first.

.... alternatively "Shortbread eating primer" as some earlier user had changed the title.

Hand-me down school books I wonder if they do that now.
My current garage notebook was my wife's 'rough book' from the 60s. Nothing wasted....

V8

[tjh290633]

.... alternatively "Shortbread eating primer" as some earlier user had changed the title.

Hand-me down school books I wonder if they do that now.
My current garage notebook was my wife's 'rough book' from the 60s. Nothing wasted....

V8

You couldn't get new books during the war. When peace broke out it all changed, eventually. I still have one or two books from school on my shelf.

TJH

[UncleEbenezer]

[When I was taught Latin the verb always came last.

So Gaul.. modern German... which came first.

In German comes the verb second.

It is the subordinate verb that always last comes.

.... alternatively "Shortbread eating primer" as some earlier user had changed the title.

Hand-me down school books I wonder if they do that now.
My current garage notebook was my wife's 'rough book' from the 60s. Nothing wasted....

V8

I may still have some school books sitting around as spare paper. Somehow they've spent a lifetime hardly being used, as backs-of-envelopes served that purpose, and more recently the 'puter does most of it.

[bungeejumper]

Hand-me down school books I wonder if they do that now.

I hope not. The chemistry books we were using in the mid-1960s dated from 1926 and listed only about 90 elements. A fine launching pad for a scientific career. No wonder I never got the hang of chemistry.

Mind you, the German books I was teaching with in the late seventies were also a little out of synch with the times. In one memorable chapter, Herr Gruber comes home one day and says to his wife, "Great news! I've found us a new flat. We'll be moving in next week." "Oooh, she says, "how clever you are. Where is it? Will there be a nice big window for my make-up and my dressing table?" No mention of what she's about to do to him with a giant salami and a drawerful of cooking utensils.

BJ

[genou]

When I was taught Latin the verb always came last.

Indeed, but not when your emphasis is that Gaul is divided into three parts

[stevensfo]

When I was taught Latin the verb always came last.

Indeed, but not when your emphasis is that Gaul is divided into three parts

From my memories of Latin grammar, the fact that each word was declined/changed depending on the meaning, meant that those that you wanted to emphasise should come first and last. Today, we would use italics, underlining or inverted commas to achieve the same effect. So in the Latin, if you wanted to emphasise that 'all' Gaul is divided, you would put 'omnia' first...etc.

Scientific articles use the same method. Usually, the most important people are the first and last names on the list.

To make clear, succeeded have I hoped.

Steve

PS anyone remember deponent verbs? Active meaning but treated as passive verbs? No wonder the Germanic tribes were so p*ssed off and decided to invade. By the time a Gothic soldier had learnt enough Latin to know the difference between 'Surrender I' in the indicative rather than subjunctive, he'd be retired!

[bungeejumper]

Im not posting on this thread anymore

Pity. crus snorvii in tres partes divisa est. sed ridiculam semper. carpe bibere.

BJ

[nimnarb]

Understand why Snorvey.. kept looking for the third episode with anticipation and wondered how it changed to Latin of all things. Do hope though we get to hear the rest at some stage?

[scotia]

Im not posting on this thread anymore

quite right - the book in question was full of vi et armis. But this thread was about your leg, not about some roman arms. There has definitely been some digression.

[AleisterCrowley]

It's the worst case of threadjacking I've ever seen, this week.

[bungeejumper]

Understand why Snorvey.. kept looking for the third episode with anticipation and wondered how it changed to Latin of all things. Do hope though we get to hear the rest at some stage?

Seconded.

BJ