Salvete, from Arkansas

[bellum paxque]

This isn't my first post, nor even my second, but greetings are still appropriate, I think.

Named David, I hail from John Brown University in Northwest Arkansas. JBU is not affiliated in any way with the radical abolitionist John Brown who led the raid on Harper's Ferry before the Civil War. The John Brown who founded my school was a Christian evangelist who lived during the early part of the 20th century. Thus, JBU is a fairly conservative, nondenominational Christian school, composed of approximately 1800 students.

My interests: omnes res de linguis. My major is English, with a concentration in composition and rhetoric, and I adore poetry, prose, writing, grammar, French, Latin, philosophy, sleeping, procrastinating, and butchering the entire musical tradition by wildly whipping the piano until it shrieks, moans, and then pants into silence.

My favorite novel just might be Lolita, and my favorite film is probably The Seventh Seal. Other favorites: lasagna, mattresses longer than 6'6", ginger ale, formal attire, contacts, curly hair, and Leonard Cohen.

I submitted a short translation into Latin for critique a few weeks ago, but I only received one response. Even though I've already turned in my (revised) translation, iudicia vestra habere cupio*. Only if you have time and desire, of course. For the curious: viewtopic.php?t=3553

Finis.

David

* "iudicia vestra habere cupio" means "I want to have your opinions," I believe. That's off the top of my head, though, so I might have missed some grammatical point. I'm approaching Chapter 30 in Wheelock's, for what it's worth. By the way, how does one express the conditional in Latin? For instance, courtesy softens "I want" to "I would like." Or, in French, "je veux" becomes "je voudrais," which represents an actual inflection (as opposed to English's nasty little modals). Verum finis.

[Marcus Regulus]

David,

mattresses longer than 6'6"

Me too when your over 6'4" it is nice to have one so your feet don't stick over the edge.

Welcome. I am kind of new here too, but the people are friendly and hlepful for the most part.

I am a beginner at latin so I will have to read your stuff later.

[Timotheus]

Hello, I'm also new.

Glad to have you aboard.

[mariek]

Welcome to Textkit!

How tall are you?

I know a guy who is 6'11". I still remember the day when I found out his exact height. I mean, I always knew he was very tall (I'm 5' so there's a noticeable difference between us) ... but one day he told me he turned down an apartment because it only had 7 ft ceilings. So I asked, "why?" because I didn't see what the problem was. That's when he told me he was 6'11".

[bellum paxque]

Thanks for all the responses!

Mariek, in response to your question, I'm around 6 feet 6 inches tall. Most of the mattresses in my dorm here at school are exactly that length, unfortunately, which means my feet are usually sticking right off the edge. Some selfish individuals -- who, most likely, are far shorter than me -- are hogging the longer mattresses. Oh well.

David

[mariek]

It's been such a long time since I lived in college dorms, I can't remember how long our mattresses were. I thought they had extra long ones. I vaguely recall them telling us to make sure we had sheets that were long enough for them.

[MyIlium]

and butchering the entire musical tradition by wildly whipping the piano until it shrieks, moans, and then pants into silence.

That's...wonderful imagery.

Would you be a high-jumper? I'm jealous of tall people because they can clear good heights without even trying. -_-;;

[mariek]

I'm jealous of tall people because they can reach higher shelves without having to use a step stool.

Although there is an advantage to being shorter... it's easier to see items on the top shelf of the fridge without having to bend over.

[bellum paxque]

I rarely find my height to be an advantage, though I'm sure that it is. The most common reward I get for being tall is the necessity of answering this question: "So just how tall are you exactly?"

And no, I'm not a high jumper. However, I was on my high school track team - back when I was in high school - but I didn't really compete in any events. My purpose for being on the team was to get in shape, which, I'm afraid, I never really accomplished. I did get to attend a lot of fun track meets.

David

PS

That's...wonderful imagery.

I realized some time after I posted that the sentence about the piano was probably prone to multiple interpretations. Oh well. There's something cowardly about editing away a blunder.

[Skylax]

how does one express the conditional in Latin? For instance, courtesy softens "I want" to "I would like." Or, in French, "je veux" becomes "je voudrais,"

It is expressed by means of the subjunctive : "je veux" uolo "je voudrais" uelim, or uellem if the wish cannot be fulfilled.

And welcome to Textkit
Skylax (1.67m, i.e. 5' 5'' 6/8 )

[bellum paxque]

Skylax said:

It is expressed by means of the subjunctive : "je veux" uolo "je voudrais" uelim, or uellem if the wish cannot be fulfilled.

Thanks for the explanation. I haven't finished Wheelock yet, but I'm pretty sure that the good professor didn't consider that aspect of Latin important enough to include it in his textbook.

I wonder if posse works in the same way. In other words, is "possisne me iuvare?" a more polite form of "potesne me iuvare?" That would follow the parallel: can you -> could you / peux-tu -> pourrais-tu / potes -> possis

-David

[Bardo de Saldo]

Welcome, David. Has Spring arrived to Arkansas?

Do you know any good sonnets in French? Share one with us.

Sorry I can't help with Latin. Say hi to Bill.

[bellum paxque]

Hello Bardo,

Spring has sprung, as my dad would say, in Arkansas. At least, the weather has agreed to be mild, and the agreeable wind seems intent on shaking all of our hands (and hair). Austere winter with its white robes and its blue veins is on vacation - to the north, I believe.

Don't worry about helping me with Latin. I'm helpless, as it is! I appreciate the thought, however.

Sadly, I don't know any sonnets in French. I do know some sonnets in English - par coeur, if you will. I should learn a good one in French. . .

Here's an English sonnet.

The Tides

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I saw the long line of the pebbled shore,
With the seaweed and the shells upon the sand,
And the brown rocks left bare on every hand
As if the ebbing tide would flow no more.
Then heard I, more distinctly than before,
The ocean breathe, and its great breast expand,
And, hurrying, came over the defenseless land,
The insurgent waters with tumultuous roar.
"All thought, feeling, and desire," I said,
"Love, laughter, and the exultant joy of song
Have ebbed from me forever." Suddenly,
They came again from their deep ocean bed,
And, in a tumult of delight, and strong
As youth, and beautiful as youth, upbore me.

---

It took me a while to put it down on paper. The last lines, in particular, were tricky to remember. I won't vouch for its accuracy - not being willing to look it up online at the moment - but it's close to the original.

David

[oistos]

Here is a sonnet in French, by Ronsard. I hope it has the air of Spring about it.


Je plante en ta faveur cet arbre de Cybèle,
Ce pin, où tes honneurs se liront tous les jours :
J'ai gravé sur le tronc nos noms et nos amours,
Qui croîtront à l'envi de l'écorce nouvelle.

Faunes qui habitez ma terre paternelle,
Qui menez sur le Loir vos danses et vos tours,
Favorisez la plante et lui donnez secours,
Que l'Été ne la brûle, et l'Hiver ne la gèle.

Pasteur, qui conduiras en ce lieu ton troupeau,
Flageolant une Eglogue en ton tuyau d'aveine,
Attache tous les ans à cet arbre un tableau,

Qui témoigne aux passants mes amours et ma peine ;
Puis l'arrosant de lait et du sang d'un agneau,
Dis : " Ce pin est sacré, c'est la plante d'Hélène. "