Monthly Latin #11

After a short break, time for some Latin again! This time about the fact that even the wisest people make mistakes. We are all fallible, all capable of making mistakes or being wrong for the simple reason that no one – quite naturally – can be expert on every facets of life.

In Latin, this would be

Nemo mortalium omnibus horis sapit

Broken into pieces for all you Latin lovers and/or students of the language: nemo (no) mortalium (mortal) omnibus (all) horis (hours) sapit (wise).

And who is famous for saying this?

Well, it is the English poet Alexander Pope, regarded as one of the greatest English poets, born in 1688. He is actually – after Shakespeare – the second most quoted writer in the English language. Pope was quick to point out the fallibility of anyone, and even made enemies with his satire. To the point of feeling at times the need to carry a pistol during strolls with his dog.

But it is no secret of course that no one knows everything about everything. We can know almost everything there is to know about something, and something about almost everything (well, that is a bit of a stretch), but never be omniscient. Even if we in the future were to have computer chips in our brains, we still wouldn’t be wise enough to be called omniscient for wisdom is not just about intellectual knowledge, but rather combination of everything that we are.

Monthly Latin #10

Time for some Latin. This one is something that some of us dream of, but very few can realize. To be able to have so little that you can carry it all with you, anywhere you go. To have that freedom. It is about minimalism, the strive to have so little that material things do not present an obstacle to one’s living and moving around.

Perhaps we can stretch this in our modern world to having everything you own fit in your camper. Where you have a neat painting hanging on the wall reminding you that there is “A place for everything and everything in its place“. So, not quite like in that distressing picture above (which is meant as a joke of course), but still, covered by this fine phrase:

Omnia mea mecum porto

Monthly Latin #9

Time for another Latin phrase in our Monthly Latin series. This time about something that will become increasingly important in our modern world as we move towards times that will most probably challenge the ways we handle global adversity collectively.

Sapiens qui prospicit

Monthly Latin #8

Here’s yet another Latin phrase in our Monthly Latin series. This could easily have an exclamation mark attached to it, and physically speaking both hands on one’s cheeks for extra effect, for it carries a lot of feeling.

Have you heard of:

O Sancta Simplicitas

Monthly Latin #7

Here’s another one in our Monthly Latin series. The phrase you see below is just as eternal as any other Latin phrase, and probably known by at least some of you.

But do you know where it originates from? Read on and you will.

 

Disce ut semper victurus,

vive ut cras moriturus

Monthly Latin #6

Here’s another one in our series Monthly Latin. This phrase is just as eternal as any other Latin phrase, and probably known by many of you. But do you know where it originates from? The history behind it is quite interesting.

 

 

Audentes fortuna iuvat

Monthly Latin #5

Let’s have another piece in our series Monthly Latin! Our fascination of this old language may very well keep it alive for centuries to come as there is no end to the wise and for ever applicable phrases in Latin.

And the next Latin phrase is just as eternal as any other – and very easy, although possibly painful, to relate to.

Ex nihilo nihil fit

Monthly Latin #4

Here’s yet another piece in our series Monthly Latin! Our fascination of this old language may very well keep it alive for centuries to come as there is no end to the wise and for ever applicable phrases in Latin. This phrase is known to most of us, and its message loud and clear.

 

Amor Vincit Omnia

Monthly Latin #3

This is the third piece in our series Monthly Latin – one Latin phrase or quotation a month. Our fascination of this old language may very well keep it alive for centuries to come. This one must be one of the most well-known Latin phrases, one that everyone should know. And one that has bearing in anyone’s life at one point or another.

Alea iacta est

Monthly Latin #2

Seal of South Carolina

This is the second piece in our series Monthly Latin – one Latin phrase or quotation a month. Our fascination of this old language may very well keep it alive for centuries to come. The person who is behind the quotation will be revealed only at the end of the article, so remember to scroll down slowly.

 

Dum spiro, spero

Monthly Latin #1

From this day on there will be another constant presence in Journeys of Life, namely Monthly Latin. That old language isn’t of course an official language anywhere except perhaps in the Vatican State, and in the Catholic Church the use of Latin has greatly diminished since the old-style Latin Mass was phased out more than 40 years ago – in favor of local languages. Latin does remain the official language of the universal Church, but it is used mainly as the language of reference for translating major documents into modern languages.