A Place of Brightness: petronius

Monday, February 1, 2016

Latin Worth Knowing: Hand Washes Hand / One Good Turn Deserves Another

I spotted in my travels that Petronius (author of the Satyricon) was credited with the quote "One Good Turn Deserves Another." I am ever interested in seeing the original words of things. When I arrived at the Latin source of this quote, what do I find there?

manus manum lavat.
hand washes hand.
(Satyricon, 45)

This quote is also recorded by a contemporary of Petronius, Seneca the Younger, tutor to Emperor Nero, who employed Petronius as his "Style Consultant" (Arbiter Elegentiae). Seneca includes that identical quote in his satire the Apocolocyntosis, 9.9.

The most likely explanation is that it was a well-known adage current in that day that both men quoted for their needs.

Still, it is certainly Latin well worth knowing.

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It's a bargain at 0.99 cents on Kindle (or affordably priced at $11.90 on paperback).

You'll travel back to ancient Rome on a harrowing mission to save the modern world. It's the adventure of four lifetimes.

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Sunday, January 31, 2016

Latin Quotes Worth Knowing About: You See a Louse on Someone Else, You don't see a Tick on Yourself!

In the Satyricon (57), Petronius writes:

In alio pediculum vides, in te ricinum non vides!
You see a louse on someone else. You don't see a tick on yourself!

This is startlingly similar to the sentiment expressed in Matthew 7:3:

τι δε βλεπεις το καρφος το εν τω οφθαλμω του αδελφου σου την δε εν τω σω οφθαλμω δοκον ου κατανοεις?
Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but you do not notice the log that is is in your own eye?

This Latin quote implies an ancient awareness that tick-borne illnesses were more dangerous than those on lice. Otzi the Iceman himself tests positive as being the oldest known case of Lyme Disease.

In the final analysis, the advice is as pertinent to us as moderns as it was to those living two thousand years ago--Do not judge others. Examine only yourself. Make corrections as necessary. Rinse. Repeat.

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In Saecula Saeculorum, the 4th Novel in the Valquist Series

In this fourth novel of the Valquist Series, Andrew Valquist is retired (?) from the National Security Agency and teaching Latin at a Classical Academy in the Washington DC area. But in the world of espionage, looks can be deceiving. He's not necessarily happy with the role he has played in all this, but the school was actually a joint NSA/MI-6 Project in which four young people have been unwittingly prepared for a mission to travel back in time to ancient Rome to retrieve information from a library that may save the modern world from certain destruction. They know they have to at least try to save humanity, but can they also save each other?

Next Stop: Spanish, the 3rd Novel in the Valquist Series

This third novel in the Valquist Series can be read as an espionage action-adventure in its own right, but also you can use it as a way to either brush up on your Spanish or learn functional Spanish for the first time! John Valquist needs to learn Spanish. But he's in luck, since his uncle Andrew is a language expert and a former (?) spy who is taking him on a vacation to Spain so he can study the language. In Next Stop: Spanish, you have the chance to see and study the words John studies, and then watch him add more and more Spanish into his dialogue as the story progresses. During this vacation, they get pulled into espionage intrigue (why do these things always happen to the Valquist family?). In the dramatic conclusion, John will need to put together everything he has learned to save his uncle!

Amor Vincit Omnia: the 2nd Novel in the Valquist Series

In this second novel of the Valquist Series, Keith Massey takes you into the halls of the National Security Agency, where he himself worked for four years after 9/11 and an Arabic linguist. You follow our hero Andrew Valquist, as he starts work as a new recruit at the NSA. Little does he know that on his first on the job, he's about to fly off on an unexpected overseas assignment. He'll be even more surprised when he learns that his background in ancient Latin will be crucial to the mission!