Know Your Bible: Cain and Abel - the Archetypal Fratricide

According to Genesis 4:1-2, the first two humans, Adam and Eve, had a son Cain, who was a tiller of the soil, and a son Abel, who was a keeper of flocks.

The trouble starts when Cain and Abel brought offerings from their efforts to the LORD (Gen 4:3-4). 

When the Lord looked with favor on Abel's offering--but not on Cain's--Cain was (somewhat understandably) discouraged. 

The LORD addresses Cain's resentfulness with an enigmatic statement (Gen 4:7):

If you do well, will not your head be lifted up? But if you don't, sin crouches at the door. It's desire is for you. You must master it.

הלוא אם־תיטיב שאת ואם לא תיטיב לפתח חטאת רבץ ואליך תשוקתו ואתה תמשל־בו׃

There is clearly background information original readers of this text knew that made this statement understandable. Without this knowledge, any interpretation of this verse is unconvincing speculation.

Peter Paul Rubens - Cain Kills Abel

But the rest of the story is pretty straightforward. Cain invites his brother out into the field (Gen 4:8). And he kills him.

The LORD immediately addresses Cain and asks him (Gen 4:9):

Where is your brother Abel?

Cain replies with the famous line:

Am I my brother's keeper?

The Hebrew original is a sing-songy rhyme:

השמר אחי אנכי

ha-shomer aHi anokhi?

Is Cain's response just an elusive dodge, or is it potentially a challenge to God himself? 

In Psalm 121:4, God is described as "Israel's Keeper" (shomer-Yisrael; שומר ישראל).

In other words, is Cain implying that God was Abel's keeper? And so, since Cain could kill Abel, why did God allow this?

As a result, the first sin described in the Bible already asks the question, "Why do bad things happen to good people?"

Cultural and Historical Connections

The immediate point of comparison is with Romulus and Remus. According to the Roman historian Livy, Romulus killed his twin brother after Remus jumped mockingly over the nascent walls of the city Romulus was building (History of Rome 1.7.2). 

The half-sisters Elizabeth and Mary lived out their lives in mortal combat, the Catholic and Protestant religions serving almost as a pretense for a conflict actually based on their mothers' marriages to Henry VIII. By a delicious irony, the two are entombed side by side in Westminster Abbey.

To end on a positive note, Catullus' brother died while serving in Bithynia. This is not a fratricide. This is a touching tribute to a dead sibling. Catullus traveled to perform the rituals necessary to allow his brother passage to the afterlife. And he penned a poem on the matter, in which he bids his brother farewell.

He writes (Carmina 101.10):

And into eternity, brother, hail and farewell

atque in perpetuum frater ave atque vale

And the elisions themselves speak a voice broken in grief:

atque'n perpetuum frater ave'tque vale

Greet Me Once! Kiss Me Twice! The Latin Verb Salutare...

The Latin verb Salutare means 'to greet'. 

But how exactly did ancient Romans greet one another?

Was this verb just describing Caecilius seeing Holconius on the street and saying, "Salve!"?

Or did Romans do something else when they performed "Salutare"?

If you've spent any time in Romance language cultures, you've noticed that "greeting" one another seems to invariably involve kissing.

In Romania, where I spend a lot of time, everyone kisses everyone. You greet someone, male or female--no matter, by a mutual kiss on the cheek, followed by a mutual kiss on the other cheek.

Within the Russian Orthodox circles in which I spend time every Sunday, there is the three-fold kiss--three in honor of the Holy Trinity. But again, male and female--no matter--that is how we greet one another.

The Romanian verb descended from Salutare is "a săruta". In Romanian, this verb means 'to kiss'.

The fact that the Romanian verb descended from Salutare means 'to kiss', coupled with the fact that Romance language speakers tend to kiss upon greeting, would seem to provide strong evidence for the assertion that ancient Romans also invariably kissed upon greeting one another.

It would be very nice to find some ancient text that could be cited in confirmation of this assertion.

And that text is found in the New Testament itself.

St. Paul was a Roman citizen. And he wrote a letter to the Christians living in Rome. 

He gave them the following advice (Romans 16:16):

"Greet one another with a Holy Kiss."

Here is the Latin translation of the verse, translated by the Roman St. Jerome:

Salutate invicem in osculo sancto. 

Here we find clear confirmation of the coupling of the verb Salutare with the concept of kissing.

But what was his point?

He's telling the Christians of Rome, who, like all Romans, greet one another with a kiss, to make sure that their kiss is holy (sancto).

What he's saying is--when you greet someone, don't greet them with a kiss that pushes the boundaries of what is appropriate.

In other words, if your Romanian wife's smoking hot friend comes to greet you, don't do the double cheek kiss in such a fashion that you actually try to make the outer edges of your lips touch hers.

Um, who, in their human weakness, would ever do such a thing?

St. Paul was clearly preaching against "a thing."

St. Paul, in Romans 16:16, tells us that Roman greetings did indeed involve a kiss. We can assume, based on Romance language cultures, that the ancient Romans greeted one another much as the Romanians still do today. 

Men kissed each other on both cheeks.  Women kissed each other on both cheeks. Men and Women kissed each other on both cheeks.

But Men then, as now, were incapable of not, on some level, sexualizing the encounter. 

We're dogs. I apologize. I'm personally a work in progress.

That said,  I think this post does accomplish some original research on the verb Salutare... 

________________________________________________________________

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.


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

________________________________________________________________

Fantastic Latin Themed Products!

I've dabbled in creating t-shirts, coffee cups, etc, on various themes. To this day I remain baffled as to why my Iguanodon Likes This idea did not make me a million dollars.

But I've stumbled today via Twitter on someone who has truly done Latin language themed merchandizing in a fashion that deserves promotion.

Meet Ginny Lindzey (@ginlindzey). She is a fellow Latin teacher and the inventory of products she has available on Cafe Press is simply extraordinary.

There's something for everyone. 

Here's a very nice design featuring classic quotes from Vergil's Aeneid. It's available, like all her products, in numerous other styles of clothing and items.

"Latin students never decline SEX."
That's a provocative statement, if you don't know Latin. Latin students, however, know that "to decline" means to produce the other case forms of a noun or adjective. And the numeral sex (six) is indeclinable, meaning it only has that one form. 

And if you love Catullus like I love Catullus, you will fancy Carmen 13 presented as it is on this t-shirt.

What I've shown here is just a tiny sample of Ginny's inventory. Please visit her site and explore the extensive and clever products available. 

Vivat Lingua Latina!

Catullus 70: Jupiter? Really Lesbia?

While working through this little poem with a Latin class today, I was struck by the thought that Lesbia (Clodia?) was probably playing Catullus all along:

Nulli se dicit mulier mea nubere malle
My woman says that she prefers to be married to no one

quam mihi, non si se Iuppiter ipse petat.
than to me, not even if Jupiter himself would seek her.

dicit: sed mulier cupido quod dicit amanti,
She says that: But what a woman says to a desirous lover,

in vento et rapida scribere oportet aqua.
she should write in the wind and rushing water.

He's astute enough to know that lovers hyperbolize in the throes of passion. But even in this realization he implies that her pillow talk is sweet to him.

So what was it exactly that Lesbia said? We can confidently dismantle the Indirect Statement construction and reassemble the likely Direct Statement antecedent:

"Mallem me nubere nulli quam tibi! Ni Iuppiter ipse me petat!"
"I would prefer to be married to no one than to you! Not even if Jupiter himself should seek me!"

But here's the thing. They all surely know their Mythology even better than us, right?

What woman who knows her Mythology seriously wants Jupiter to court her? It never turns out well for the woman. First of all, he's not available to be married. He has a wife, Juno, and she's the one who always makes Jupiter's lovers suffer cruelly in the end.

Think of the nymph Io, turned into a cow by Juno.

And then there's Semele. Juno tricks her into asking her lover Jupiter to show his godhead to her, knowing it would burn her alive.

So Lesbia tells Catullus that she would rather marry him than Jupiter. In the context of Mythology this is akin to saying "I'd rather marry you than marry Saddam Hussein!"

Starry-eyed Catullus couldn't read between the lines.

Let us Live, My Lesbia, and Let us Love. Vivamus mea Lesbia atque Amemus

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



The famous first line of Catullus 5.

Vivamus, mea Lesbia, atque Amemus. Let us live, my Lesbia, and let us love.

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

Vivamus atque amemus tees by keithmassey
Create one-of-a-kind photo tee shirts on zazzle.

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

To Synch or Not to Synch

The news that Beyonce (Beyoncé Knowles) apparently lip synched her performance of the National Anthem at the President Obama's Second Inauguration certainly comes as no surprise. I mean, you wouldn't want the story the following day to be how you sang the thing awfully. So Beyonce pre-records and pretends to sing. Now, the detail of pretending to take out the ear audio feedback in retrospect is a bit disingenuous, but I still don't fault the decision.

It's interesting that this is a controversy seemingly new to the world since the introduction of recording technologies.

The first clear case of lip synching showing up in media seems to be the case in the movie Singin' in the Rain.   Kathy Selden dubs for Lina Lamont, until the curtain comes up to reveal who the real star was all along!

But really, lip-synching is essentially similar to earlier fictional concept of Cyrano de Bergerac supplying material to a suitor for Roxanne. 

I can't think of any other precedents that that. More vaguely, the concept of pseudonyms for lovers, such as Catullus calling his girlfriend Clodia as Lesbia are the closest truly ancient parallels to artistic substitution.

Regardless, Beyonce, you did well, live or recorded.

NEW EVIDENCE FOR THE UNITY OF CATULLUS 2 AND 2B

1. Introduction

One of the most enduring controversies in Catullan studies is the question of what relationship, if any, Poem 2 has to the three lines conventionally labeled 2B. The ten lines of Poem 2 address the pet sparrow of the poet's love interest:





 
 









Passer, deliciae meae puellae,
quicum ludere, quem in sinu tenere,
cui primum digitum dare appetenti
et acris solet incitare morsus,
cum desiderio meo nitenti
carum nescio quid lubet iocari
et solaciolum sui doloris,
credo ut tum gravis acquiescat ardor:
tecum ludere sicut ipsa possem
et tristis animi levare curas!

The three lines of 2B, despite being connected to 2 in the received manuscripts (with Poem 3 following), present a sudden shift in topic, tone and grammatical subject:
 
Tam gratum est mihi quam ferunt puellae
pernici aureolum fuisse malum,
quod zonam soluit diu ligatam.

In the wake of initial suspicions regarding the manuscript presentation of their unity in the 16th century, there have been successive waves of scholarship for and against the unity of these lines up to the present day. Modern scholars have presented positions along the entire spectrum of rejecting or supporting the unity of the current texts, positing a unity but assuming a lacuna between the two, or emending the text to alleviate the apparent disjointedness of the two pieces.
I will not, in this post, revisit or assess the particular strengths and weaknesses of the previous research on this topic. All sides could probably agree that reasonable and cogent arguments have been made for multiple possible opinions. Indeed, barring the unlikely discovery of a manuscript predating those which led to the current divide, no literary or philological argument will end all debate on the matter.
What I will present here is an entirely new line of reasoning in favor of the unity of 2 and 2b. An examination of alliterative patterns used by Catullus will suggest that the three lines of 2b are indeed the conclusion of the piece.

2. Alliteration in Catullus

Like other poets, Catullus used alliteration and assonance liberally.  This stylistic effect could occur throughout the line but could also include repetitions at the beginning of successive lines.  In Poem 5, Catullus produces alliteration and assonance throughout the line, as well as displaying line initial patterns:
 
Vivamus mea Lesbia, atque amemus,
rumoresque senum severiorum
omnes unius aestimemus assis!
soles occidere et redire possunt:
nobis cum semel occidit brevis lux,
nox est perpetua una dormienda.
da mi basia mille, deinde centum,
dein mille altera, dein secunda centum,
deinde usque altera mille, deinde centum.
dein, cum milia multa fecerimus,
conturbabimus illa, ne sciamus,
aut ne quis malus inuidere possit,
cum tantum sciat esse basiorum.

Following four lines with prominent alliteration and assonance internally, Catullus closes the piece with a line initial pattern of AABBBBCDC.
This is no isolated effect. Catullus also uses alliteration and assonance to produce what appears to be intentional patterns. In Poem 40, for instance, he alternates all but one line with either a /k[w]/ or a vowel:
 
Quaenam te mala mens, miselle Ravide,
agit praecipitem in meos iambos?
Quis deus tibi non bene advocatus
vecordem parat excitare rixam?
An ut pervenias in ora vulgi?
Quid vis? Qualubet esse notus optas?
Eris, quandoquidem meos amores
cum longa voluisti amare poena.



 3. Initial Alliteration in 2 and 2B

If line initial patterns are indeed part of the inventory of literary effects Catullus employed, there emerges an intriguing proof of the unity of 2 and 2B. Note that following the first two lines, Catullus produces a consistent initial line alliterative pattern in 2.3-10:

Passer, deliciae meae puellae,
quicum ludere, quem in sinu tenere,

/p/  /q/

cui primum digitum dare appetenti
et acris solet incitare morsus,
cum desiderio meo nitenti

/c/ /et/ /c/

carum nescio quid lubet iocari
et solaciolum sui doloris,
credo ut tum gravis acquiescat ardor:

/c/ /et/ /c/

tecum ludere sicut ipsa possem
et tristis animi levare curas!

/t/ /et/ /.../


The predicted next letter, in a pattern produced by intentionality, is a /t/. Note now the first letters of 2B:

Tam gratum est mihi quam ferunt puellae
pernici aureolum fuisse malum,
quod zonam soluit diu ligatam.


Not only do we witness the predicted /t/, but the final two lines repeat the same /p/ and /q/ seen in lines 1 and 2.
Taken together, 2 and 2B produce a highly symmetrical alliterative pattern:

Passer, deliciae meae puellae,
Quicum ludere, quem in sinu tenere,

Cui primum digitum dare appetenti
ET acris solet incitare morsus,
Cum desiderio meo nitenti

Carum nescio quid lubet iocari
ET solaciolum sui doloris,
Credo ut tum gravis acquiescat ardor:

Tecum ludere sicut ipsa possem
ET tristis animi levare curas!
Tam gratum est mihi quam ferunt puellae

Pernici aureolum fuisse malum,
Quod zonam soluit diu ligatam.


6. Conclusion

Catullus certainly considered initial line alliteration and assonance to produce an effect at his artistic disposal. He also displays a marked tendency toward overall symmetry in the construction of his poetry. The observation that 2B completes 2 in a symmetrical alliterative pattern is at least suggestive evidence for the unity of the poems. Accepting them as a unified whole does not remove the very real difficulties in explaining the seeming semantic and syntactic disjointedness of the pieces. But, despite these problems, the alliterative patterns may suggest that more work should be spent in trying to make the marriage of the two somehow work.

Who Owns Ancient Latin Hymns?

Apparently, anyone who tells YouTube that they do.

There's a curious issue that has suddenly popped up on YouTube. If any of you have been dealing with this as well, I'd love to hear from you.

It started last week. I get a notice that someone is making a copyright claim on a video I made years and years ago to help people learn the Arabic Alphabet. I was stunned looking at this message in my inbox. I knew that the video in question was made by me five years ago. It included only images of my hand drawing Arabic letters, titles produced in iMovie, and public domain music loops available in Garageband.

So the notice informed me that my video was not being taken down (Thanks!!), but that I could expect some ads now attached to my video from the party making the dispute.

Thankfully, the copyright claimant was named to me specifically in this message. I googled the name of the dude (I'm sure not going to include it in this post, since he apparently was part of an attempt to get more publicity than he deserved already). I see the dude has some Jazz Album on Amazon. I click on it and I get to listen to the track in question. And the dude is basically reading poetry with the same Garageband public domain music loop playing in the background!! Here's the kicker, his album was released AFTER my video was posted.

So I actually go through the process of disputing this claim. YouTube, in the message informing me of this matter, has a link for me to dispute it. I am forced to spend precious seconds of my finite life explaining what I just laid out above. And I submit my dispute. I get a message a few days later informing me that the "Music Publishing Company has released their claim."

Oh, really? In other words they're now admitting that they didn't in fact have ownership of my video because they used a free Garageband loop even after I did? Thanks!

YouTube, I hoped that someone on your staff followed that exchange and realized you're all being played by people who are trying to get product links attached to innocent videos.

I wish that were the end of the story.

I just now finished again wasting the precious seconds of my finite life answering back, get ready for it, a claim from a "Music Publishing Company" that my version of "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" violates their copyright.

That's right, someone told YouTube that they own this Medieval Latin hymn. And YouTube then let them make a claim on my video, in which I sing and I produce all the instruments in Garageband. 

And here's the thing. If I didn't go through the trouble of disputing it, my video is going to end up with a link to some specific person's version whose Music Publishing Company had the balls to try this dastardly method.

Again, YouTube, this is becoming a problem. The two claims I describe above are certainly fraudulent. And if you don't find a way to weed this out, you will only be swamped with more of this.

Meanwhile, please enjoy my creations of the Medieval Hymn Veni, Veni Emmanuel and my original song of Catullus' Carmina 5. I expect any day for someone to make a claim on my Catullus video, merely by telling YouTube they own all the works of Catullus. And YouTube apparently will just pass this claim along, with the right to place an ad on my video if I don't protest.

Click here to download my version (it really is, it doesn't belong to anyone else) of Veni, Veni Emmanuel for free.

Click here to download my original song based on Catullus 5 (until someone claims they own it, of course, and Youtube takes them at their word) for free.

 

Catullus 5: Let us Live and Love

Here's a music video I made for perhaps the most famous love poem ever written:

Add caption