So I'm watching, minding my own business, conjugating "accendere," working on the future tense, and what should appear before me on the screen, but the words "non timebo mala." LOL! "I will fear no evil," which is (obviously) in the future tense. The words are inscribed on the barrel of an old Colt revolver.
Here's the lore from the show about the Colt (not that I really expect anyone to be all that interested, but I think it's pretty cool in an American shoot-'em-up-cowboy kind of way):
"Back in 1835, when Halley's Comet was overhead, same night those men died at the Alamo, they say Samuel Colt made a gun - a special gun. He made it for a hunter, a man like us, only on horseback. Story goes, he made thirteen bullets. This hunter used the gun a half dozen times before he disappeared, the gun along with him... They say this gun can kill anything."
And, of course, the characters on the show wanted to find this gun to kill a particularly bad and destructive demon 'cause that's what the show is all about.
Both the quote and the picture above are courtesy of Super-wiki, a handy little source for obsessed "Supernatural" fans like me. ;D
~Rachael
2 comments:
This is simply ingenious. I see the inscription both as a personal statement (non timebo mala, because I have a gun!) and as a consolatory note to the person about to get whacked!! In fact this is more probable, given the larger context of the phrase, Psalm 23.1.3. I found it in the Vulgate. Enjoy:
VUL Psalm 22:
1 psalmus David Dominus reget me et nihil mihi deerit
2 in loco pascuae ibi me conlocavit super aquam refectionis educavit me
3 animam meam convertit deduxit me super semitas iustitiae propter nomen suum
4 nam et si ambulavero in medio umbrae mortis non timebo mala quoniam tu mecum es virga tua et baculus tuus ipsa me consolata sunt
5 parasti in conspectu meo mensam adversus eos qui tribulant me inpinguasti in oleo caput meum et calix meus inebrians quam praeclarus est
6 et misericordia tua subsequitur me omnibus diebus vitae meae et ut inhabitem in domo Domini in longitudinem dierum
And here is the translation, more famous because of the movies of course:
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. Surely goodness and loving kindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
EM.
Exactly! :D Also, that particular gun is only used to kill evil demons and send them permanently back to Hell, so particularly appropriate in that case. The bullets were individually made especially for it for that purpose, so once all the bullets are used, the gun won't work anymore because they have no way of making more bullets.
They speak a lot of Latin on "Supernatural," mostly spoken by Jared Padalecki's character. The actor took Latin when he was in high school and college and the powers that be had him do a refresher course before filming started. Jared Padalecki (pictured here) said in an interview that it's "not regular Latin" and it's different than what he learned in school... I assume, something more Medieval? They also have a professor of Latin (don't know the person's name) as a consultant on the show to help with translations/pronunciation/whatnot.
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