tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21602861.post1238659509028204356..comments2023-10-17T12:05:26.540+01:00Comments on Razor-blade of Life: Let them eat lettuceZhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00822383355869390919noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21602861.post-10199228003926808002011-06-07T06:34:27.374+01:002011-06-07T06:34:27.374+01:00I don't think I'd be able to choose a best...I don't think I'd be able to choose a best opening line, but then I wouldn't be able to decide on a single 'best' anything. Another favourite is Paradise Lost <i>Of Mans First Disobedience, and the Fruit<br />Of that Forbidden Tree, whose mortal tast<br />Brought Death into the World, and all our woe</i> - but indeed, <i>Of Mans First Disobedience</i> sets the scene and tickles the curiosity, which is what's wanted from an opening line.<br />If one does not speak or understand a language, one relies on the quality of the translation, most of all in poetry, and yet the resonance of the original words are part of its beauty, of course.<br />The best teachers stay with you all your life, don't they? <br /><br />As for dyscalculia, I'm not sure that much attention has been paid to it, in the way that it has for dyslexia. It's different, of course, because difficulty with reading does not indicate a lack of understanding of words or language, whereas one can read numbers and use them accurately, to whatever extent, without actually understanding them.Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00822383355869390919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21602861.post-26240014629375528992011-06-07T00:09:20.225+01:002011-06-07T00:09:20.225+01:00I do not have the symbols here - and I'm sorry...I do not have the symbols here - and I'm sorry for poking at the Greek "point" - but the best line imho is the opening of the Iliad:<br /><br />https://facultystaff.richmond.edu/~wstevens/epicproem.html<br /><br />"MENIN aeide thea ..." <br />Vom ZORN mir singe oh Göttin ...<br /><br />Our Greek teacher explained and showed us the beginning of the Iliad - not in a half baked way, but pretty (this audio is a bit tiring), well, exploding: It's about a mans furor, anger.<br /><br />He was a born Bohemian in his late fifties, a gentle, softspoken and highly learned man. He teached us from 9th grade onwards, must have been ... 1978? And of course he had us. He had a wicked sense of humour too.<br />I can still read it, but I forgot the words. I had to use Latin all through my studium, sometimes I gave lessons (Nachhilfe, tutoring?), and sometimes I am still asked by colleagues to help with translations.<br />The "best" (sorry) Latin I ever saw was written by Thomas Aquinas in his summa. I had to work through pars secunda secundae quaestiones 96 seq. (superstitio, incantationes, pactum). I feel a deep respect for the doctor.<br />But I never ever understood mathematics, I am nearly illiterate in this field. A number is a nice or interesting graphical sign with a semiotic impact - but I can not decipher it: I know, but do not understand.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21602861.post-24674295804046526492011-06-06T22:37:02.543+01:002011-06-06T22:37:02.543+01:00Okay -
There's always something new out of Afr...Okay -<br />There's always something new out of Africa<br />A dog ate my homework<br />I am, You are, He/she/it is,We are,You are,They are<br />You exaggerate the truth, dear Z<br />All Gaul is divided into three parts<br />I sing of arms and the man<br /><br />I tried Greek when Al learned it, but it was too late. It was beyond me.Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00822383355869390919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21602861.post-88855829678939408882011-06-06T22:11:24.828+01:002011-06-06T22:11:24.828+01:00I say WHAT? It's all
Greek to me.I say WHAT? It's all <br />Greek to me.luckyzmomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04176703683321469118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21602861.post-76727396163780870542011-06-06T20:46:38.451+01:002011-06-06T20:46:38.451+01:00Arma virumque cano is so much more enticing, isn&#...<i>Arma virumque cano</i> is so much more enticing, isn't it? I still think it's one of the best opening lines of any book.Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00822383355869390919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21602861.post-20297641385932608602011-06-06T20:40:13.496+01:002011-06-06T20:40:13.496+01:00Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres ... Oh Lord...Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres ... Oh Lord ... and so it rumbles onwards, Caesar here, caesar there, it's all about Caesar.<br />Later we read Cicero, Tusculanes disp. and Catilina; Ovid, ars amatoria and metamorphoses - difficult. Finally Aeneis, subject of the final exams.<br />Of course we first had to work through Julius' boring hq dispatches so we could see Cicero's finesse.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21602861.post-36291271085379456932011-06-06T18:01:50.205+01:002011-06-06T18:01:50.205+01:00BTW, it's been terribly gratifying to be able ...BTW, it's been terribly gratifying to be able to read and understand all the Latin in these comments. Thank you for speaking to me at just my level.Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00822383355869390919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21602861.post-32215451289671854822011-06-06T18:00:10.116+01:002011-06-06T18:00:10.116+01:00I actually rather want to try a sea urchin from yo...I actually rather want to try a sea urchin from your description, Chris. Although it would, I suppose be rather unkind to deprive the unfortunate creature of life just so I could be mildly, enjoyably, revolted.<br /><br />Rosie, it was an art teacher that so put me off the subject that I never have willingly painted or drawn since. I would have liked to learn to draw, but she wanted big paintings that were beyond my inhibited capabilities and she rubbished my tentative attempts using a quarter of the paper. <br /><br />My first two attempts at Latin O Level, the set book was Caesar's Gallic Wars, too boring to read in any language (the second time, I received the lowest possible grade, a 9!). The third was a book of the Aeneid, which was brilliant, and I passed.Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00822383355869390919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21602861.post-19519387001133900272011-06-06T15:28:08.693+01:002011-06-06T15:28:08.693+01:00We never had such interesting stories at my school...We never had such interesting stories at my school. I wasn't even allowed to take Latin...or woodwork. I was allowed to take Domestic Science, a horribly wrong thing to force me to do as a child. A gift of a box of coloured pencils to a four year old girl with tonsilitis changed my life.<br />But I would have loved your stories. We were shamed by James Bond dropping his swimming trunks...page 84.Rosiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17467630407914812378noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21602861.post-90011028349048925192011-06-06T09:46:47.581+01:002011-06-06T09:46:47.581+01:00Vero exaggeras, Z dilecta. But have you - or anyon...Vero exaggeras, Z dilecta. But have you - or anyone else - tried eating sea urchins? They're the fiddliest things, sharp spikes all over, and all you get from them, once you've contrived to get inside, is a tiny scrape of pink iodine- and salt-flavoured slime that barely covers a mustard spoon. You need every atom of your concentration for this - take your eye off for a moment and you're spiked - so dancing girls would be more of an alternative than a concomitant.Christopherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14227767014123557100noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21602861.post-43596096140937294912011-06-06T09:01:04.376+01:002011-06-06T09:01:04.376+01:00I wasn't given a choice, I was in the A stream...I wasn't given a choice, I was in the A stream so took Latin and French. When I went to the other school and discovered the range of subjects I could have taken (I always wanted to learn Ancient Greek) I wished I'd been there all along.<br /><br />Me too, Mike. My Latin is up to Dave's quip of the dog having eaten his homework, but that's it. Christopher's command of Latin is impressive, however.Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00822383355869390919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21602861.post-52157072865463354672011-06-06T08:43:38.322+01:002011-06-06T08:43:38.322+01:00Sum, es, est, sumis, estis, sunt - about all that ...Sum, es, est, sumis, estis, sunt - about all that remains!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07558857315748815249noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21602861.post-30721624486952908922011-06-06T02:23:59.854+01:002011-06-06T02:23:59.854+01:00I did not take Latin. In my school if you took La...I did not take Latin. In my school if you took Latin you also took extra math for some reason. But if you took a modern language then you had to take another one too. I took Italian and English and enjoyed both. You were brave to take Latin. I did take Russian later on. Thanks for coming to my blog.Vagabondehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10774109692564954568noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21602861.post-45578148481966780132011-06-05T22:14:48.467+01:002011-06-05T22:14:48.467+01:00Ho ho, Dave.Ho ho, Dave.Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00822383355869390919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21602861.post-27693584611733503002011-06-05T18:07:27.438+01:002011-06-05T18:07:27.438+01:00I never completed my Latin homework - canis meus i...I never completed my Latin homework - canis meus id comedit.Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08403853324345062446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21602861.post-30650255838259150092011-06-05T17:26:35.385+01:002011-06-05T17:26:35.385+01:00Sometimes, the snails come as a bonus, or slugs at...Sometimes, the snails come as a bonus, or slugs at any rate!<br /><br />Or sometimes something very old, Jane and Lance...Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00822383355869390919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21602861.post-37298394974971566972011-06-05T17:17:48.449+01:002011-06-05T17:17:48.449+01:00Hello Z:
Ex Africa semper aliquid novi! The same m...Hello Z:<br />Ex Africa semper aliquid novi! The same may also be said of Razor -Blade of Life.Jane and Lance Hattatthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16831890261259302647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21602861.post-89713546534081193462011-06-05T17:13:41.213+01:002011-06-05T17:13:41.213+01:00I love my lettuce but I really couldn't eat a ...I love my lettuce but I really couldn't eat a whole one. And especially not with snails!Sharon Jhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17300818778040143359noreply@blogger.com