I ended up taking three years of Latin—my parents’ idea of good preparation for college, I guess—and it has given me a general appreciation for the derivation of English and other languages’ words. But the association of ‘Latin’ and ‘death’ brings to my mind another repugnant image even before that of war. I was haunted by the gladiators…
I ended up taking three years of Latin—my parents’ idea of good preparation for college, I guess—and it has given me a general appreciation for the derivation of English and other languages’ words. But the association of ‘Latin’ and ‘death’ brings to my mind another repugnant image even before that of war. I was haunted by the gladiators’ saying Morituri Te Salutamus. I could never get my mind around willingly fighting to the death, whether in an a spectator-filled arena or on a battlefield. I served my country as an Air Force officer (developing computer software) during the Vietnam Era, because the draft gave me no legal choice, and I separated before they deployed me. I honored my grandfather’s conscientious objection not by refusing to serve in wartime, but by refusing to die in a war.
I ended up taking three years of Latin—my parents’ idea of good preparation for college, I guess—and it has given me a general appreciation for the derivation of English and other languages’ words. But the association of ‘Latin’ and ‘death’ brings to my mind another repugnant image even before that of war. I was haunted by the gladiators’ saying Morituri Te Salutamus. I could never get my mind around willingly fighting to the death, whether in an a spectator-filled arena or on a battlefield. I served my country as an Air Force officer (developing computer software) during the Vietnam Era, because the draft gave me no legal choice, and I separated before they deployed me. I honored my grandfather’s conscientious objection not by refusing to serve in wartime, but by refusing to die in a war.