Post by j***@gmail.comPost by j***@gmail.comWhat would be the best translation
of
"tua res agitur"
which best captures the grammar
semantics of that "agitur"?
Ed, I agree. Having thought about it
a bit, and having found the moderately
famous quote form Horace, I conclude
that
"tua res agitur"
points at the Horace quote
"nam tua res agitur, paries cum proximus ardet"
and at the various meanings of it which you just
gave.
It also resonates a bit, does it not, with,
"custodes fratriis mei sum"
(forgive any errors in my recollection
of Bible Latin)
Thank you all for your thoughtful help.
Horace was no Stoic. You don't get lofty moral maxims from him. He calls
himself "a little porker from the sty of Epicurus", and his solution to
the problems of life is to bring out the wine and dancing girls.
I do wonder about him sometimes, though. He was an excellent wordsmith;
he could play with the Latin language like no one else. He has a
reputation similar to that of Dylan Thomas, whose last words are often
quoted as "“I’ve had 18 straight whiskies; I think that’s the record.”
And yet when you listen to the puritanical voice in his recordings
(especially "Under Milk Wood") and read about how he took so much effort
over single words, well, I get cause for pause.
I think both of those poets were "playing the poet". It's something to
be, like John Lennon's "working-class hero". It's mapped out for you,
people know how to respond to it, the role exists in the culture of the
times.
Ed