A Place of Brightness: Gladiator: I will see you again. But not yet. Not yet...

Saturday, March 12, 2016

Gladiator: I will see you again. But not yet. Not yet...

I show the movie Gladiator to my Latin 1 class every year. It's simply terrific. Having now seen it dozens of times, I never tire of it.

I love the friendship between Maximus (Russell Crowe) and Juba (Djimon Hounsou). It is cultivated when we watch Juba nurse him to health on their journey. And as they open up about their families.

In a conversation between the two, the movie brilliantly introduces the concept that we will see our departed loved ones, but, while we still have important things to accomplish, it is "not yet."

And at the end, Maximus has achieved his goals. He has killed the Emperor, enacted his vengeance. He dies fulfilled.

But he also won the freedom of Juba. And his dear friend, knowing the significance of the Lares et Penates, the household gods of Maximus, buries them in the sands of the arena.

And he speaks to his friend.

"I will see you again. But not yet. Not yet."

The Latin he would have spoken is:

Te videbo iterum. Sed nondum. Nondum.

I tell my students every year that the movie has a happy ending. They are frequently too young to understand. Maximus did not die defeated. He died having fulfilled the aims of his life. May we all...

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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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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!

Saturday, March 12, 2016

Gladiator: I will see you again. But not yet. Not yet...

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