Thursday, July 19, 2012

Iuventus stultorum magister

One of the most delightful parts of the highly enjoyable film Tombstone is the scene where Doc Holliday and Johnny Ringo banter with each other in Latin:



Well, ever wonder what that all meant?  My Latin is sadly rather spotty, and so I only ever picked up a third or a half of the exchange.  Well, there's a fabulous web page that gives the background and context (along with the translations):
DOC: "In vino veritas.
JOHNNY: Age quod agis.
DOC: Credat Judaeus Apella, non ego.
JOHNNY: Iuventus stultorum magister.
DOC: In pace requiescat."
Here is a translation, with a few explanatory words along the way.
"In wine there is truth." A common enough Latin aphorism, meaning that alcohol consumption is like a truth serum. Doc is therefore overruling what his 'darlin'' has said; indeed, he hates Johnny.
Click through for the rest, which is a delight.

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