Farewell Cicero!

As the semester comes to a close, I will say farewell to dear Cicero...sarcasm anyone?  I am just kidding! I actually enjoyed Cicero and as a result have a newfound respect for him.  I came across a great site devoted to Cicero hosted by the University of Texas.  If you are interested in learning more about Cicero, it has a great chronology of his works AND an amazing bibliography section with the names of MANY articles and books. Enjoy!

http://www.utexas.edu/depts/classics/documents/Cic.html

Anne L.

More Latin Resources

Another site I used on and off this semester was Classics unveiled. They have sections on Classical mythology, Roman history, items about everyday life in Rome, and a section called Latin Wordstock (which contains both vocabulary in Latin and English derivatives of Latin).
Salvete!
Dawn M. Clark

Benefits of Latin

I think that Latin is one of the most useful languages I've tried to learn. I grew up in a Spanish program and learned a lot, but I think Latin has still been more beneficial. It's used everywhere I've discovered. Signs, books and medical terms all stem from this language. Even many of the worlds languages today have taken the Latin roots for their own meaning. I just think learning Latin vocab and how to efficiently translate has lead to to a better understanding of language in general.

It may have been tough for me to memorize at times, but it was truly worth it. I think Latin is a beautiful language and it is something everyone should look into because it really is transitory no matter what your native tongue is.

Parting Gifts

This is my last semester here and as an advanced Latin student I wanted to leave some parting gifts.  These are some great resources for students both who are new to Latin and the more advanced.  

This is the best online Latin dictionary EVER created...Ever.

http://www.archives.nd.edu/cgi-bin/words.exe

This is a great database of Latin texts.  They are untranslated, but are great if you want to print out the Latin.

http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/

This is a database of both translated and untranslated texts.

http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/home.html

This is another great database of translated and untranslated texts.

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/

Enjoy!!!

Anne L.

Want to learn more about roman History?

My husband was a history major, and one of his favorite areas of study is Ancient Rome. This means that I often catch bits of materials he is using, like watching the HBO series Rome or listening to podcasts about Roman history on long car trips. Luckily, I too enjoy these things and consider continued curiosity about things part of what makes life worth living. The blogger's intent is to cover the history of Rome "beginning with Aeneas's arrival in Italy and ending (someday) with the exile of Romulus Augustulus, last Emperor of the Western Roman Empire." You can listen to the podcasts on-line, or download them for your computer or mp3 player. Mike Duncan, the blogger, also provides other materials such as images and maps. The old site is here on blogspot. The new site is on typepad. Gaude!

Dawn M. Clark

Latin study tools

Studying Latin is not something that has been coming easily for me. It seems I always need extra practice to get a concept down. This has led me to searching out other Latin resources on the internet. One of the items I found was a site called Study Stack. Study Stack is made to sync up with several different Latin textbooks, including Wheelock's, Cambridge, and more; But it is still useful. Lots of flash card and quiz exercises are available. i hope that some of you may find this website as helpful as I did.

Dawn M. Clark

Latin in Rome

Last summer I attended an archaeological field school in Sicily and had a three-day layover in Rome on the way. I took this time to see some of the historic sites in the eternal city, though for anyone who wants to know how much time they should spend in Rome, three days was not nearly enough time to see everything. In that time, however, I did check out some of the ancient Roman ruins and buildings still standing. There were Latin inscriptions on several of the buildings, and I’ve included pictures of inscriptions on the Pantheon and on a fragment of the Coliseum. Unfortunately, I was not able to understand these and other Latin inscriptions that I saw throughout the city. However, hopefully when I return to Rome someday to do all the things that I didn’t get to do the first time around, my knowledge of Latin that I have acquired over the last two semesters will help me appreciate the experience more =)

Chris Griesbach

Cicero Credit Crunch

Hey all!

A friend shared this article with me, and I thought I would pass it along. He's an economist, which explains why he even stumbled across the this article to begin with. The article discusses how Cicero's letters helped economic historians track the first credit crisis in the Late Republic.

I was reminded about it with the talk of money today concerning paper topics. May it prove to be helpful!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/nov/28/credit-crunch-roman-republic-lecture


Shannon

Latin is everywhere!

I should have posted this a while ago when I saw it, but I'm quite forgetful. About three to four weeks ago on an episode of Lost there were characters that were speaking in fluid Latin. I thought it was pretty cool and made me wish that we actually learned how to speak and understand verbal Latin. The characters were this group known as the "others" and it was their special way of communicating to each other without other people knowing what they were saying. I could understand some of what they were saying, but they could speak it quite fast. I just found it neat that Latin appears even in our television shows we watch...or at least what I watch, I dunno about you all lol.

-Robert Speich

Something that made me smile...

...while making my Latin flashcards.

Interesting thought isn't it? I freely admit to being a hard core video game addict when it comes to the role-playing genre of games. There is a character in Final Fantasy IX whose name is Vivi. I just started playing the game over a few weeks ago, and honestly never seriously thought to much of the names. Last week or so, while working on my flashcards I came across the Latin adjective "vivus." Did not think much of it until I had finished the card and looked down to see "vivi" written there. It made me think of that character, and honestly how appropriate this name was. "Vivus" means alive, living - the character Vivi throughout the entire game is trying to learn what it means to be alive, and what should be treated as a living person. So, that little connection of Latin words and contemporary ideas, while making my Latin flashcards, gave me a smile.

Semper,
Candis B.

Seeing Latin in Everyday Life

One of the joys of taking Latin occured recently when I began re-reading the Harry Potter series, and immediately started picking out all kinds of Latin words and their meanings. An example is in the first book where the password to the Gryffindor tower is "Caput Draconis" or head of the dragon.

I also see Latin usage everywhere, in articles and in English words themselves, and it is quite interesting to be able to pick them apart and understand the meanings and the language structure that makes them up.

Also, the theme of the Roman world throughout the text book has been interesting, because it allows for brushing up on some western culture and history while taking a language class. I appreciate being able to get a sense of Rome and Latin and how they have affected world history up to this point, in such a diverse range of countries. I am taking Russian as well as Latin, and noticing significant similarities between the two; as a result, learning both enables the languages to complement each other (though sometimes I mix them up as well) and has helped me grasp both.

-Christian Marble, Latin II

learning a new language

I have always wondered why people come to the United States and never bother to learn English. I have always believed if you are going to live somewhere you should learn the language. While I still believe this I have a new appreciation for the difficulty associated with learning a brand new language. The past two semesters I have been attempting to learn Latin. Don't get me wrong I have learned a lot about Latin and a lot of Latin but we have only studied the grammar and translation of the language. I can't even imagine trying to learn all the grammar and how to speak a language! I have enough difficulty learning Latin without trying to learn how to speak it.

Nathan Watts

Latin Graffiti

I came across this and thought it was pretty cool. It's latin graffiti dating back to the early Christian Roman Era.



Anne L.

It has taken me all term...

To get here and actually post. I always say "I will do that later today." Well, it never really gets done, I even caught myself doing that today! But, I made it here, finally. This term has been very long it seems. We covered a lot of new material with in Latin 2. Past tense was actually kind of fun once you get the hang of translating it into English. I really did have a lot of fun with the formation of comparative and superlative adjectives. I'm curious as to what Latin 3 will bring in the Fall, and I seriously hope that I can remember everything from this last year! Anyone have any tips or ideas on how to keep everything moving forward? I forgot so much just in three weeks of Winter break, I'm really scared what a whole Summer will do! Will post again soon,

Always,
Candis B.

Veni, Vidi, Vici.

I have really enjoyed working with Latin. Although, I must admit, there are times that I feel as if I sit and just stare at the paper at an utter loss of how to possibly translate what I'm reading into English. Despite this feeling, I never give up, for I know that after just a little bit of practice, it can be conquered.

Anytime I'm around my dad, and I speak of anything regarding this class, he always says to me "Veni, vidi, vici" and then proceeds to correct himself and say "O, no, that's Italian." Well this semester allowed me to learn that it is actually Latin! It was Italian that took it from Latin. This realization really made me enjoy Latin that much more. I continue to find random phrases of Latin in everyday places. Just knowing that I can now translate these common things that are otherwise overlooked is really awesome. It's also really cool to be able to point them out and inform others that have no background in Latin and wouldn't otherwise know what the saying meant.

-Alyssa Rigolo

Fear the Wrath of Octavian

I found an interesting news story this morning on Yahoo! about archaeologists looking for Cleopatra and Marcus Antonius.

I don't think Octavian would be too pleased that someone is trying to uncover his dirty work.

Chris Copley

Latin...

So I have waited a long time to finally post in here. I must say that being in Latin 2 has allowed me to see just how much Latin I have managed to remember. This class seems very easy and even more interesting now that I am able to accurately translate things. An interesting thing happened to me recently. My mother had a friend from Greece come visit us a few weeks ago and she brought a book written in Latin to read on the plane. (I don't think I could ever read and translate a book in Latin as a past-time). Anyways, I was very happy to discover that I could somewhat translate some of the words in the book! Latin has opened new doors for me and who knows, maybe one day I'll be able to translate an entire book written in Latin!

-Ingrid Morales

Nicholson and Cicero 63

Nicholson

In many ways, the ability to send and receive letters in Cicero’s day was not so very different from our own time. Modern mail is handled by more than one carrier and travels by many different means. Trucks and planes have replaced the horses and ships of the Roman era and today’s mail may arrive at its destination much sooner than in Cicero’s time, but we still share many of the same concerns. Privacy is still an issue which we resolve with tamper-evident security envelopes rather than personal wax seals. We worry about letters getting lost or mis-directed just as Cicero did, and modern mail carriers still return undeliverable letters to the sender just as they did in Cicero’s day. There is almost as much a chance that our mail, too, will occasionally end up in the wrong hands, viewed by unwelcome readers. Like Cicero, we are just as likely to sit by the window and anxiously await the arrival of the mail carrier, and when at last we receive that long-awaited letter from some far-away friend, we may rejoice as much as Cicero rejoiced when he held in his hand a letter from his good friend Atticus. Cicero would have been impressed by the fact that we can send a letter half-way around the world in just a few days, but it’s hard to imagine a modern letter-writer asking the mailman to relay some personal information to our friend when he delivers the letter we wrote. Cicero may have liked many aspects of modern mail service, but his version of the postal service has much to recommend it as well.

Andrea Harper



Atticus XIII. 52

This letter is interesting because it was written just 3 months before Caesar was killed. Cicero describes how worried he was when Caesar showed up at the villa of Philippus with 2000 bodyguards! Where was he going to put everyone when they showed up at his villa the next day? Apparently, Caesar’s friend, Cassius Barba, must have been concerned for Cicero as well. He provided him with a guard (custodes dedit) and helped him set up a camp for the soldiers in an empty field (castra in agro). You get the impression that the soldiers must have been a bit rowdy and out of control as they passed through Italy on their way to Rome. Cicero mentions that the only time they behaved themselves was when they passed the estate of Dolabella and lined up on the left and right of Caesar’s horse as they passed along the road. This orderly formation for the benefit of Dolabella may have been Caesar’s way of honoring (or appeasing) the man to whom he had promised a consulship before deciding to keep it for himself. At any rate, the unruly and disorderly procession of his ‘bodyguards’ could not have won Caesar very many friends among the general populace. It may be for this reason that Cicero was glad to see him go and pleased that he didn’t have to invite him back.
Andrea Harper

Cicero's letter 63 and John Nicholson's article

Letter 63 (Att. 13.52)

Cicero wrote this letter to Atticus in 45 BCE informing him about J. Caesar's recent visit during the Saturnalia celebration. Although Cicero claims not to regret Caesar's stay, he describes the incredible crowd that followed Caesar; his army which filled the villa, his entourage which was richly received and his slaves and freedmen who also had to be entertained. Although his visit may have been welcome, it seems that it was also a tremendous financial responsibility to provide a sumptuous feast for all who accompanied the leader, which is perhaps why Cicero made the comment that he would not say "amabo te, eodem ad me cum revertere" to his guest- once was apparently enough. However, this letter does provide interesting insight into how feasts were carried out and how important visitors were received during this period.

"The Delivery and Confidentiality of Cicero's Letters"
John Nicholson

Nicholson's article describes the postal service, or lack there of, during Cicero's life time. He indicates that due to the absences of complaint regarding cost and the frequency of Cicero's letters, it must have been relatively inexpensive and easy to send letters during the late Republic, at least within Italy and closer regions. There were a variety of means by which one could send a letter, either hired letter carriers, personal slaves or employees, or friends and acquaintances who happened to be travelling to a particular region. However, there were difficulties in this system. Privacy was not always guaranteed; the letter could either be intercepted by spies or read by the courier himself. Nicholson provides many examples of coded speech that Cicero employed to prevent spies from understanding his messages. Cicero would also write in Greek at times for this purpose. However, the safest method was to entrust any sensitive information to the letter carrier to relay when the letter was delivered (if the courier himself was trustworthy). Multiple copies of a letter were also sent out with different carriers at times. Some routes were not safe and some couriers not prompt, this helped to ensure at least one copy would arrive safely to its recipient. Despite these precautions, Nicholson concludes that although there was no postal service, sending and receiving letter during Cicero's life time was easy and semi-dependable.

Andrea Johnson

Nicholson,

The Nicholson article examines the various avenues in which a Roman nobleman may send a letter, and the dangers in concealing confidentiality. Cicero is an extremely easy study because so much of his correspondence survives. As many of my colleagues point out, Republican Rome did not have a postal system as we know it today. It was not until Augustus that any resemblance to one might have been formed. Cicero had many ways that he could send a letter. Depending on his needs he could send his correspondence with a slave, a friend, or other less reliable individuals. All had their advantages and disadvantages; slaves could be expensive, friends happening to travel to a letters destination could understandably be a rare occurrence, and publicani and other messengers might be less reliable. This brings Nicholson to the other longer study of the different methods that Cicero could employ in maintaining the integrity of his correspondence. He could use wax seals, the double sending of the same letter, the use of Greek, code, or the omission of proper names. Many of these methods reveal to me why so many of Cicero's letters at times are so vague, and may appear meaningless. Nicholson also highlights some of the more comical aspects of Cicero's character in pointing out that he would sometimes attempt to intercept a letter that he felt was written prematurely out of anger, or that he might write Atticus no more than a few words. The latter quirk reminds me of my mother in law (bless her heart) who will call daily just to see how things are going... yikes! Finally, Nicholson reminds us how these letters were still in danger of being intercepted long after they had reached their destination. Romans had not discovered paper shredders yet, and they hoarded them so that they would be preserved for college students to toil over 2000 plus years later; "Cicero's anxiety over the confidentiality of his correspondence extended into the future, and toward the end of his life he began to betray a concern to leave an edited and sanitized corpus of letters for posterity" (Nicholson, 62). Cicero of course lived in a turbulent time in Roman history. The forces that were in motion were bigger than he ever realized and he died because of it. Nonetheless, these dangers were ever present. One could conclude, why might Cicero be so concerned with maintaining such a steady stressful supply of correspondence always on the ready; Nicholson reminds us, "in times of crisis, frequent correspondence with friends was vital to Cicero's successful political negotiations and peace of mind" (34).

Letter 74

This is an incredibly interesting article written to Cassius. In its brevity Cicero laments his standing with Marc Antony, "consero servimus" (2.10). Caesar had recently been assassinated and Antony made sure to fill the void. The trouble was that he accused Cicero of being the ringleader behind the deeds of Brutus and Cassius; "vestri enim pulcherrimi facti ille furiousus me principem dicit fuisse" (1.4). Though he clearly is angered by Marc Antony he as well seems to be slightly put off by the insinuation that he was behind their actions. Though he acknowldeges the "pulcherrimi facti," he as well says to Cassius that it his responsibility that Antony still remains to stir trouble; "utinam quidem fuissem [principem]!" (1.5). This letter sheds even more light on the degenerate matters in Rome. As well Cicero shares his hopes with us that Cassius' actions might indeed save the Republic. Alas, he was wrong in his hopes but right about Antony.

Asa A. Cabbage

Sorry I forgot to sign. The post below is Brett Collins'

Letter 63 and The Delivery and Confidentiality of Cicero's Letters

Letter 63
This letter is written to Atticus in 45 BCE while Cicero is at his villa in Puteoli. He outlines a Saturnalian dinner party in which Caesar attends with 2,000 of his soldiers. Cicero describes the dinner as being pleasant and with festivities for all types of people. He describes that to his delight, there was no talk of politics and the conversations focused around literary works. Despite the redeeming qualities of this dinner, in true Ciceronian form, he states that although Caesar was a pleasant guest, one time is enough and hopes to avoid another dinner party with the general.



Nicholson Article
This article focuses on the methods and perils of delivering letters during the Late Republican Era in which Cicero was so avidly writing. Nicholson quickly establishes that there was no established postal service until Augustus became emperor. However, that does not mean there was ever a shortage for couriers for hire. The lack of an establish government institution to deliver letters meant that letters and their contents were incredibly vulnerable. A curious courier or spy could very easily intercept a letter and divulge its secrets. However this prompted wealthy citizens to hire personal couriers, often slaves or freedmen, whom they could trust.
As I have quickly learned this semester, Cicero suffered from a severe case of epistolary addiction. The political and social climate in Rome demanded constant updating and forced Cicero into daily exchange of letters with contacts as far as Macedonia. I found it very interesting that Cicero would sometimes send a letter merely because there was a courier leaving and he would hate to miss the opportunity for interaction. This possibly tells me that despite his "friendships" and constant time in the spotlight, Cicero was a lonely individual longing for an equal to relate to. However it could also be seen as a life preservation tactic - if he is up to date with current affairs, then he can better prepare himself.
Ultimately, the efficiency and frequency of visits from letter carriers allowed Cicero to produce 37 extant books and 37 lost books of letters that chronicle the Late Republic from an insiders view, so the current system obviously worked and proved to be a vital tool in the survival of these letters for the use of the modern scholar.

The Nicholson Article and Letter 63

The Nicholson article discusses the manner by which Cicero’s letters were delivered, their frequency, and Cicero’s apparent need to write them, even without a clear purpose. Nicholson begins by reminding the reader that during the time of the Romans there was no firmly established postal service. When reading Cicero’s letters, and considering that he wrote letters on a daily basis, the fact that there was no postal service is baffling. As Nicholson indicates there may not have been a service, but there was also no shortage of couriers either. Cicero had his letters delivered either by friends or hired couriers, and with each of these he was also aware of the dangers. Cicero knew that his letters could be read and took careful consideration when writing to make sure not too much information was revealed. Overall, the facility of letter transportation allowed Cicero to write what will the thirty-seven extant books of his letters, very impressive.

Letter 63:

Letter 63 was written by Cicero to Atticus in 45 BCE from his villa near Puteoli. The letter describe’s Caesar’s visit during the Saturnalia. Caesar brought with him 2,000 soldiers making his stay difficult for Cicero, however, not enough to reject him. Cicero describes the banquet that they shared as enjoyable, with good food, and no talk of politics. In true Cicero style, he acknowledges that Caesar was a good guest, but not one he would want to return any time soon!

-Anne

I might have to give Cicero some respect...

I was quite taken aback by Letter 74, which is a letter Cicero wrote to Cassius. It concerns how Antony wants to punish those who assassinated Caesar. On top of the that, Antony labels the murder as patricide, invoking blood laws. Cicero writes openly how Antony wants to kill Cassius, and then corrects himself. Antony wants him, Cicero, dead as well because it is widely believed that Cicero was a mastermind behind the assassination. Cicero counters this by stating that if he had been closely involved, there would be no complications following it, because Antony would have gone with Caesar. After reading the article, which stressed the issue of secrecy, it's amazing that Cicero would commit such a brass statement to paper. He doesn't cloak it even with Greek. For a man that went through pains to secure trustworthy carriers prior, Cicero no longer, it seems to me, see the need to censor himself. I find this Cicero, rather than the one hiding away in dark and savage forest, to be more compelling.

Shannon N

Cicero Assignment: Nicholson article and Letter 74.

Letter 74: What first struck me about this letter was its revelation of the stressed personages of the Late Roman Republic. Brutus and Cassius, though definitely in the limelight, were not so much so as Cicero, who had constantly exposed himself (I like the Herodotus quote at the beginning of Nicholson's article!) to the whims and mercy of the turbulent times in which he lived. Caesar had been made perpetual dictator (for life!--45/44 B.C.) and this definitely knocked out the Patrician's power holdings and threatened everyone. Or so we always hear. This letter only reveals the high-minded thinking of Cicero and the co-Conspirators of Caesar's brutal and bloody assassination. Sure, it is an excellent representation of the times, and I know that Cicero tried his best to represent the common people, but he clearly was the creme de la creme. What did Caesar holding power really threaten? It threatened one man's--in particular--nostalgic longings for Republican precedence, one man's dreams of having a very operational State where people were represented strongly and fairly. Though in all of these letters I haven't heard one thing about people's common interests or Cicero's longings for a better state. All I hear him whining about are his own interests and those of the Senators' being threatened in the sense that their long-time holdings of land, money, and power are on the verge of being taken away or limited. I'm certainly not saying Caesar was a saint. He was an anachronistic man and yet also a man of his own times. His clemency was renowned and, ut opinor, bono. Anyhow, Cicero says "O Rem Miseram," as he ruminates about the dastardly deed Cassius has done 7 months earlier, and he also asks "sed ubi sunt copiae?" because he is worried about the retribution of Octavian and Antony. Well, as he should have! (And we know that Cicero got his worst fear, and asked the soldier who murders him to "do it properly eventhough what you're doing is not proper, Soldier!"). This letter is nevertheless excellent insight into how Cicero and his countrymen articulated their plight well over 2,000 years ago. Very illuminating and rewarding translation and read.

Nicholson Article: Cicero loved to live through his letters. Letter 56, I believe, tells us this much: "in ea mihi omnis sermo est cum litteris." It isn't surprising then that an excellent article has been written about the plethora of letters Cicero sent and received, and his interest in the comings and goings of his freedman, Tiro, his friend Trebatius, his "dominum" Caesar, his wife/ex-wife Terrentia, his best friend Atticus, and brother Quintus. I found this article very intriguing (though it hasn't been my absolute favorite) because it shows we students of Cicero how he lived, what he prioritized, what he loved and despised, and much more. It peeled back the many layers to each letter we have read in class thus far and extricated teaching points that I have missed. The nuances of Cicero's letters--like avoiding direct mentioning of his "meis" (his friends and family)--and his frequent jokes and recreations of dialogue (such as in his meeting with Caesar). I found out through reading this article why Cicero did such things. Looking forward to reading more about him in the coming weeks!

Michael Jahosky

Letter 63 and John Nicholson Article

Article:

John Nicholson’s article elucidates some very practical points about transporting and safeguarding the letters for arrival at their intended destinations. He begins by making the point that there was no official postal service for Romans until the time of Augustus (cursus publicus). In Cicero’s days, messengers, tabellarii, or personal servants were employed for this service. The method was by no means safe and one could never be certain that the letters would arrive unscathed. Whether from rain, tampering or robbery, there was a constant fear of correspondences being made read by those of whom they were not intended. Various methods were employed by Cicero and others to help prevent this, or at the very least that their meaning was unknown through a method called en ainigmois (in riddles), but no method was full proof. This interesting, and very pragmatic, article presents some important research to the understanding of Cicero’s body of work.

Letter 63:

In his letter to Atticus in Rome on December 21, 45 BCE, Cicero tells of the banquet hosted by Phillipus in which Caesar was a guest. Caesar, then dictator, brought a large contingent of soldiers with him (2,000 according to the letter) and fortified the villa for safety while pitching a tent outside as well. The banquet appears to have been very elaborate and liberal entertainments (valde copiose) were made even for the freedmen and servants. Cicero mentions that Cicero was a pleasant guest but not the type you would want to have around more than once (semel satis est). An interesting note, Cicero says there was no talk of politics (spoudaion ouden) but plenty of literature (philologa). Clearly, great expense was taken to ensure the night was a success and that it was all on account of Caesar. I’m sure Cicero would have liked to say plenty more about the banquet but probably thought it wise to hold his tongue.

-Alex Seufert

Neither slow couriers, nor tampering, nor civil war can keep Cicero from writing a letter.

See comment for actual post.  

-Shannon