The other day I checked out The Idiot's Guide to Learning Latin from the library, just to see what Idiots are expected to know. They don't use macrons in this book, so we will never know if they are speaking of aqua or aquā, but they do offer sage advice, entertaining tidbits, and point out some potholes one might stumble into. For example: Do not confuse condio, condire (to season) with condo, condere (to found). As the book says, Garlic may be the foundation of your soup, but you cannot found a city with it.

Ann Bartlett
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In the 1940s a man working in a basement in a house in York saw a troop of Roman soldiers. He could only see them from the knees upwards, though. Friends who heard the story laughed at him. Some years later, however,excavations revealed a Roman road that lay two feet below the floor of the basement.

Maryemm
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This quotation has been around for many, many years and I cannot claim it as my work; however the saying does apply anytime one learns a new skill, and it does encourage one to push on, make the mistake, get on with it, and succeed.

"Anything worth doing is worth doing badly." -- anonymous

I believe you will see a reference to this in the Oxford Book of Quotations. It is not in Bartletts. At least that was my experience over 10 years ago.

Gene
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NIGHT-TIME BURIAL
The author is talking about lights being on during the funeral procession.

"Night time burial by torchlight was a Roman custom. Our word funeral is derived from the Latin funes, the waxed cords that were the wicks of classical torches. Even for the rare daytime burial among the Romans, a right reserved for important people, the torchlight procession was kept."

(from "Milton's Teeth & Ovid's Umbrilla" by Michael Olmert Barnes & Noble Books, c1996 Chapter 1 Life ( Death) p. 34)

There are a lot of references to the customs of the Romans in this chapter. According to the author, the night time burials took place because the "important" people didn't want the commoners to drink and make merry more than they did.

Nancy Finlayson
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THE ROMAN THEATRE
It seems that there are only about 200 years that are important--roughly 200 years B.C.

In the area of comedy material from two playwrights survive --Titus Maccius Plautus(254-184. B.C.)--a very popular play of his is titled "Pot of Gold, The Menaechmi, Braggart Warrior." This comedy is based on Greek comedies --it has witty jokes--Latin dialog--varied poetic meters.

The other playwright who wrote comedy was Publius Terenius After(195-159 B.C.). He was born in Carthage and came to Rome as a slave at an early age and was subsequently freed. One of his outstanding plays is titled, "The Brothers, Mother-in-Law,etc. He also integrated his stories with Greek originals.

In the area of tragedy there are no surviving plays from the early period . One playwright from the later period is the well known, Lucius Annaeus Seneca(5 B.C. -65A.D. However, he is considered to be an inferior writer of drama but he did have a strong influence on later dramatists. His plays are based on Greek drama and one of his plays is titled, Agamemmon.

(For this information I am indebted to the Introduction to theatre (Online Course) offered by the Northern Virginia Community College.)

J. Collins (Jack)
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THE OTHER "G" in GLADIATOR

"The Teesdale Mercury" a UK newspaper reports: "An image of a Roman gladiator wearing only a G-string has been dug from the bed of the River Tees.

Broken Roman pottery, decorated with the picture, was recovered from the river at Piercebridge.

Archaeologists believe the figure of a gladiator, who also appears to be holding a whip, may be the first of its kind ever discovered."

Maryemm
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HAIKU
Autumnal splendor.
Dazzlingly brilliant colors
Bedeck hills and vales.

Created by Nancy (Mouseketeer)
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THE MIGHTY COLOSSEUM
While stands the Coliseum, Rome shall stand;
When falls the Coliseum, Rome shall fall;
And when Rome falls -- the world.

-- Lord Byron, Childe Harold's Pilgrimage
There are alternative spellings for the name The Coliseum viz. Coloseum, Colosseum. The original name of this ancient Roman sports arena, is The Amphitheatrum Flavium.

Maryemm

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