A rhyme which I heard from my Latin classmates

[Episcopus]

"Latin's a dead language, as dead as dead can be
It killed off all the Romans - and now it's killing me"

I don't know about you, but that offended me. I was transfixed speechless at that. Talk about contumelias conicere!!

[phil]

Ah, an oldie but a goodie. I remember laughing at that back when I was doing Latin in the 5th form. But it offended you? Surely not.

[benissimus]

Latin classmates? Who might they be?

[klewlis]

I heard that one in college but it was about greek instead of latin. And there was an entire poem to it! I will have to try to dig that up somewhere.

[Emma_85]

But it's so true Episcopus! (well, at least it's killing me , and it's certainly killed my teacher - why else do you think we call him zombie?)

[Episcopus]

Latin classmates? Who might they be?

The closest to that is my mother! She sees all my work.

Haha Emma oh Emma, you say that you do not understand the Dative case of Latin. What a lie. You are talented to know Greek, you are easily capable of Latin. I would blame your teacher then.

[Mellitus]

My grandparents were always grieving, because they had latin in they secondary schools (american high school, I believe). Rosa, rosae, rosae... Even my fellow students don`t want to learn latin. It`s maybe not easy, but remember Nietsche - what won`t kill you, will strenghten you

[Amy]

I read that in my friend's online diary and thought it was funny Being a big math-basher, can't say I can't relate.

[bingley]

Then there's the ever popular:

Caesar adsum jam forte,
Pompey aderat,
Caesar sic in omnibus,
Pompey init sat.

Just read it aloud.

[Episcopus]

What about ius fac mihi! - "make me some broth!"

[Magistra]

Here's a version with a little bit more to it.

Latin is a language
As dead as it can be.
First it killed the Romans
And now it's killing me.

All are dead who spoke it,
All are dead who learned it,
All are dead who wrote it:
Noble death -- they earned it!

I found it at <www.palouse.net/proise/latin.htm>, but I'm betting that it's quite a bit older than the internet!

Obviously inaccurate, but too old to be offensive.

Magistra

[vinobrien]

Probably time to add:

Puella Regensis ridebat
Quam tigris in tergo vehebat.
Externa profecta
Interna revecta
Et risus cum tigre manebat.

There was a young lady from Niger
Who smiled as she rode on a tiger.
She left on the outside
Returned on the inside
With the smile on the face of the tiger.

[Pete]

vinobrien, that was beautiful. I shall probably never be the same, after reading it. I liked the metaphor for human suffering, and the archetypal battle between civilization and nature, but what really pulled at me was the stripping away of the social conventions of the "lady" to reveal the animal core within (or "without" as the poem has it, when ego and id are reversed).