ibides?

Column 8 has been involved in a furious workplace argument about the plural form of the word ''ibis'' (the bird that tears garbage bags to shreds with apparent impunity all over the CBD). We favour ''ibi'' over the clumsy, but allegedly correct ''ibises''. Thoughts?

(14/9/2011)

labor omnia vincit

A bit of a Latin discussion in the paper over the last couple of days, from Column 8. First on Saturday:

''Latin, being the concise language it was (or is), causes much confusion in translation,'' writes obstetrician and gynaecologist Phil Watters, of Fern Tree. ''My favourite story is the opening of a large new maternity unit which had the words 'Primum non nocere' placed over the entrance. This is the exhortation in medicine to 'First do no harm'. Some wags then pointed out it could also mean 'The first time doesn't hurt', or 'Once is OK' etc (you get my drift), so they changed it to 'Labor vincit omnia'.'' It took us a while to work it out, but it translates as ''Labour conquers all''.

Which occasioned this response today:

Beryl Lubov, of Sussex Inlet, insists that the correct version of Saturday's Latin maternity ward sign ''is 'Labor Omnia Vincit' (the verb always comes last in Latin), also the motto of Sydney Girls High School, the alma mater of the NSW Governor, Marie Bashir'', and indeed Beryl herself. ''In the 1940s it was translated as 'Work Conquers All', and to students from other high schools Sydney Girls was known as the 'sweat school'.''

...the verb always comes last in latin? A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing.

A lawsuit waiting to happen

I enjoyed this from today's column 8.

"My friend who worked on P&O ships in 1960 swears this is true,'' writes Jane Dymond, of Kiama. ''The Summer Olympics in Rome were close to starting. Standing outside the Colosseum an American woman turns to her friend and says 'It's going to be beautiful, but I don't think they'll have it ready for the Games.' I was in Pompeii recently. Staggering over the uneven, rocky ground came an American woman wearing shoes with towering stiletto heels. As she passed me she muttered, 'This place is a lawsuit waiting to happen. You'd think they would concrete it.' "

loose ends

(Alan Moir, Feb. 18)

I mentioned last week that Sydney Uni was getting rid of its Latin motto from its new look logo. There were a couple of follow up items in the paper that I thought worth mentioning here too:

Hearts and Minds

Here's an interesting (at least to me) exchange from Column Eight over the past couple of days:

A cry from the heart, literally, from Fee MacGregor of Randwick: "My son is getting married in August to the lovely Anna. The wedding will take place at Lewes Castle in Sussex (not far from Hastings), and my husband was asked to design a card. He chose to make it look like a panel from the Bayeux Tapestry. He wanted to have something in Latin on the card, along the lines of 'From opposite sides of the world - two hearts joined', the sort of thing which, when translated, will draw sentimental sighs from the fairer sex and involuntary retching from those who despise public displays of affection. Can you translate? In my translator program 'heart' always comes out as 'viscus' or 'pectus', but if you convert that back it comes out as 'chest', or viscus can come out as 'entrails', which is slightly off the mark. We have been trying for weeks to find a Latin scholar." Any takers?

Des Cahill, MA (Latin), of Manly is one of many readers to offer a translation of "From opposite sides of the world, two hearts joined", for the Bayeux Tapestry wedding card... "Adversis partibus orbis terrae duo corda coniuncta."

There are, of course, myriad other interpretations, including this, from Zenon Alexander of Balmoral. "My alma mater, Sydney University, solved this problem long ago by adopting as its motto 'Sidere Mens Eadem Mutato', loosely translated as 'One at heart though poles apart', referring to its relationship with Oxford University. 'Mens', the mind or intellect (or heart), is emotionally more poetic than 'entrails'." Who are we to doubt the classical credentials of a man named Zenon?

Hi, my name is Elizabeth Smith," writes none other than Elizabeth Smith of the Blue Mountains, "and I am a first year Latin student at Macquarie University... I was able to do a translation into classical Latin of 'From opposite sides of the world - two hearts joined'. It reads as: 'Ab adversi lati mundi - duo animi conveniebamus'. The translation of 'joined' is a bit tricky, as to whether they would like the infinitive - to join, or in the past tense, have joined. In any case, the infinitive meaning is 'convenire', the literal meaning, 'to come together'. Anyway, I hope this is right, as I'm sure my professor reads Column 8 and I'll be reprimanded if incorrect." Don't worry about the prof, Elizabeth - you're already better at Latin than Column 8 ever
will be.

There are lots of words for heart/mind/soul in Latin which are often used interchangeably. here are some of them:

anima: soul, spirit, vital principle, life, breathing, wind, breeze, air

animus: mind, intellect, soul, feelings, heart, spirit, courage, character

cor: heart, mind, soul, spirit, intellect

mens: mind, reason, intellect, judgment, plan, intention, frame of mind, courage
pectus: breast, heart, feeling, soul, mind

spiritus: breath, breathing, air, soul, life

viscer: entrails, innermost part of the body, heart
viscus: soft fleshy body parts, internal organs, entrails, flesh

For the record, I would probably translate the phrase something like adversis terris, animi coniuncti, which may not be exactly right, but at least has the virtue of simplicity. I think animi is probably the most appropriate word for hearts in this context, though why I say that I'm not sure- none of the others feel quite right.

For the dangers of using internet translators see these Latin tattoos.

Related Posts

• Politics- Roman Style

Politics- Roman Style

"The National Budget must be balanced. The public debt must be reduced; the arrogance of the authorities must be moderated and controlled. Payments to foreign governments must be reduced, if the nation doesn't want to go bankrupt. People must learn to work instead of living on public assistance."

This quote, which appeared in Column 8 recently, sounds like it could have been written yesterday, but in fact comes from the works of Cicero- the Roman lawyer, politician and philosopher- written in 55BC. I'm not sure which speech but I'll try and track down the Latin in the next few days.