A Place of Brightness: seneca

Showing posts with label seneca. Show all posts

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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If you're interested in Latin or ancient history, or even just an entertaining read, check out the time-travel thriller In Saecula Saeculorum. Click to learn more.

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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Monday, January 25, 2016

Latin Quotes Worth Knowing: Gladiator in arena consilium capit - The Gladiator makes his plan in the Arena

This is a delightful quote, embodying both key vocabulary and a crucially important lesson on life.

Gladiator in arena consilium capit.
The Gladiator makes (his) plan in the Arena.
(Seneca, Epistolae 22.1)

The point being, making a plan in the arena is too late! One needs to plan ahead in order to succeed.

Nota Bene, the Latin idiom to "take" (capere) a plan (consilium) rather than the English idiom "to make a plan."

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Saturday, March 9, 2013

No Age is Closed to Great Geniuses - Nullum Saeculum Magnis Ingeniis Clausum Est

By Keith Massey, PhD. Connect with me on Google+ and Twitter. Explore my novels at Lingua Sacra Publishing.

A classic quote from Seneca.

Nullum Saeculum Magnis Ingeniis Clausum Est - No Age is Closed to Great Geniuses.

I've designed a line of t-shirts and other products with Latin enthusiasts in mind.

Nullum saeculum... tshirt by keithmassey
Design custom shirts at Zazzle

You can change the gender, size, color, and style of this product on the Zazzle site. Enjoy!

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There was never a great genius without a mixture of madness - Nullum magnum ingenium sine mixtura dementiae fuit

By Keith Massey, PhD. Connect with me on Google+ and Twitter. Explore my novels at Lingua Sacra Publishing.

A classic quote from Seneca the Younger.

Nullum magnum ingenium sine mixtura dementiae fuit - There was never a great genius without a mixture of madness. So many of our great artists and thinkers have proven this point!

I've designed a line of t-shirts and other products with Latin enthusiasts in mind.

Nullum magnum ingenium... tshirt by keithmassey
Make your own tee shirt at Zazzle.

You can change the gender, size, color, and style of this product on the Zazzle site. Enjoy!

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Art is Long, Life is Short - Ars Longa, Vita Brevis

By Keith Massey, PhD. Connect with me on Google+ and Twitter. Explore my novels at Lingua Sacra Publishing.

A classic quote from Seneca the Younger.

Ars Longa, Vita Brevis. Art is Long, Life is Short. His words are true after 2000 years.

I've designed a line of t-shirts and other products with Latin enthusiasts in mind.

Ars Longa, Vita Brevis... T-shirt by keithmassey
View other Seneca T-Shirts at Zazzle.com

You can change the gender, size, color, and style of this product on the Zazzle site. Enjoy!

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!